Montevetrano di Silvia Imparato - Colli di Salerno 2019

Dubbed ‘the Sassicaia of the South’ by Robert Parker in 1995, Montevetrano is a wine that sells at a price well below its comparative quality. With a trailblazing owner, creating wines from international grape varieties that are recognisably Italian, Montevetrano has gained a cult following. Brainchild of Silvia Imperatore, who enlisted the help of her friend and top winemaking consultant Riccardo Cotarella, it’s not hard to see why the estate is so frequently likened to legend Sassicaia.

It’s the brainchild of owner Silvia Imperatore, who enlisted the help of her friend and top winemaking consultant Riccardo Cotarella as she set out to make a top quality wine from Campania, the region to the south of Tuscany.It’s made from a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon alongside local grape variety Aglianico. The four hectare vineyard has gravel soils and is just a couple of kilometres in from the sea, just like Sassicaia’s famed terroir. But whereas Sassicaia make 180,000 bottles of the top wine, there are just 30,000 bottles of Montevetrano produced each year. A prized Southern Italian gem. 

Montevetrano is a red wine Colli di Salerno IGT, composed of Cabernet Sauvignon, Aglianico, Merlot. It is produced just a few kilometres from Salerno in the winery of Montevetrano owned by Silvia Imparato in San Cipriano Picentino. It is vinified with own grapes and bottled at the estate, to guarantee total control of the whole productive cycle. The composition of the soil is medium-texture, with bones fragments.

"This is one of the icon wines of southern Italy. It maintains its timeless nature throughout the years, in good vintages and in bad. The 2019 Montevetrano embraces the radiance and elegance of the very good vintage this was in Campania, with cool nights, good moisture and average summer temperatures. The blend is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Aglianico and 20% Merlot sourced from a five-hectare site with clay soils. Some 20,000 bottles are made. The bouquet reveals dark cherry and black plum with baker's chocolate and exotic spice. There is an especially black fruit quality that is almost tarry from the Aglianico, and that grape really pops from the blend, as it should, since this is one of the original "super Campania" wines." - 95 Points, Robert Parker

Producer: Montevetrano di Silvia Imparato

Country: Italy

Region: Campania

Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon, Aglianico, Merlot

Appellation: Colli di Salermo IGT

Vintage: 2019

Size: 750ml