2008 Terra di Lavoro
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Tasting notes
I purchased the 2008 Terra di Lavoro upon release for a price that seems amazing for what’s in the bottle today, and then buried it deep in my cellar. In 2018, I opened the first of my six-pack, and I decided that the wine still needed a little more time. Well, that time is now, as the 2008 is just entering its prime drinking window. With its deep crimson color and beguiling bouquet that mixes fresh cracked black pepper, plums, sandalwood, ashen earth and sweet smoke, the 2008 Terra di Lavoro makes itself known. The longer this sits in the glass, and with each swirl, the more it gains in volume and depth. Today, the 2008 is velvety-smooth, having shaken off the gruff tannins of its youth to reveal an elegant display of ripe blackberries laced with hints of tobacco and cocoa. The acidity is spot-on, making the mouth water even as the intense primary fruit within continues to drench the palate. Classically dry and harmonious, the 2008 tapers off with noble structure and tarry black fruits that seem to linger for well over a minute, proving to be well worth the twelve years it took to find this gorgeous place in its drinking window. There’s no rush here. While quite enjoyable today, I’m intrigued to see what another five years will bring.
Critic scores
Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
80% Aglianico, 20% Piedirosso. Very dark lustrous crimson. Ripe, confident, sweet, just this side of treacle but with a tannic spine. Really interesting. Youthful but well constituted. (JR)
Galardi's 2008 Terra di Lavoro is a legend in the making. It is a fabulously ripe, rich and seductive wine endowed with beautifully articulated dark plums, ash, leather, licorice, all of which meld together in an explosive, utterly thrilling display of class and elegance. Clean, mineral notes frame the eternal finish. Today the 2008 is impossibly young and the wine will require considerable patience, but its class, pedigree and potential are all first-rate. Simply put, the 2008 is a monumental Terra di Lavoro.
Galardi’s 2008 Terra di Lavoro is a legend in the making. It is a fabulously ripe, rich and seductive wine endowed with beautifully articulated dark plums, ash, leather, licorice, all of which meld together in an explosive, utterly thrilling display of class and elegance. Clean, mineral notes frame the eternal finish. Today the 2008 is impossibly young and the wine will require considerable patience, but its class, pedigree and potential are all first-rate. Simply put, the 2008 is a monumental Terra di Lavoro. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2038. Terra di Lavoro, first produced in 1994, has quickly established itself as one of Italy’s cult wines. I tasted all of these vintages with proprietors Arturo and Dora Celentano during their first visit to the US. The Celentanos have a huge passion for food and wine, and that exuberance comes through loud and clear in these fabulous wines. Terra di Lavoro is 80% Aglianico and 20% Piedirosso from vines planted by consulting oenologist Riccardo Cotarella beginning in 1991. The fruit is harvested according to ripeness rather than strictly by variety, which means that Aglianico and Piedirosso are sometimes picked and vinified together. After the alcoholic fermentation, the wines are racked into French oak where they remain on their lees for several months. Cotarella describes Aglianico as a hard grape to take through malolactic fermentation. He therefore believes it is essential for the final blend to be made before the wines go into malo. The final blend is assembled and undergoes what is usually a very slow malo, in steel for 80-90% of the wine, prior to being moved back into oak. There is little question that malolactic fermentation in stainless steel contributes significant freshness and aging potential to this heroic southern Italian wine.