The Wine Discovered by OPM's Carmen: On the Lips of the Top Tastemakers in Italy (Top 50 Lists) Aglianico of Unsurpassed Burgundian Elegance and a Meursaultian White

 Vini Marino
 - These Make Top 50 Lists in Italy
 - Stylistically- the Feel of Burgundy
 - A Major, Major Find

2019 Vini Marino Proclamo Cilento Fiano Vendemia Tardiva
 - Almost Earthy Aromas
 - Like a Box of Freshly Harvested Porcinis
 - Wonderful Mineral Interlacing
 - More Like Old Sauternes or Auslese Aromatics
 - Gorgeous and Intoxicating
 - Palate: Terrific Tropical Fruit
 - Superb Minerality
 - Burgundian Luxuriousness
 - Weighty Substantiveness
 - Almost like Very Good Meursault
 - Terrific Thread of Saltiness
 - Fresh and Lively
 - The Absolute Complete Package and So Distinctive

2012 Vini Marino Proclamo Cilento Aglianico Riserva
 - Absolutely Special and World Class Wine
 - Aged 8 Years in the Cellar
 - As if Some Brilliant Heretic Broke the Law and Planted Aglianico in Burgundy
 - Nose: About as Elegant as You Can Get
 - Almost Sensual: Caresses You
 - A Subtle Richness
 - Very Elegant, Subtle Blackberry Fruit
 - A Hint of Porcini
 - Lilacs, Plum Flowers
 - Seamlessly Integrated
 - Palate - Pumps Juiciness

 - Elegant Blackberries

 - Hint of Spice, So Delicious

Back in New York, I got a computer. Her name is Carmen.

Every morning, right after I brush my teeth, I punch out:

"Carmen, computer on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?"

Now, most mornings, she spits out, "Garfield, you're the fairest."

But three weeks ago, she said: "Garfield, Garfield, scratch your balls. New England..." 

Pardon me. 

"New England Wire and Cable is the fairest of them all."

New England Wire and Cable? I said, "What's it worth?"

So she showed me the numbers - Other People's Money

The most common question I get is, "How do you find these wines?" It's a fair question.  The wine business is very competitive. And some of my competitors have full time people on the ground in Europe. But we always seem to be able to find the next big thing before they do.  

So I'll tell you the secret ... hard work.  A lot of it. We basically track the opinions of a large number of European wine professionals in a database and look to see which "unknown" winemakers are popping up most frequently.

And at some point last year, this winery percolated to the top of the list. My first reaction was, I'll admit, surprise.  They are most famous for aglianico, which with one or two exceptions does not make the most elegant of wines. And yet these wines were getting absolute raves in Italy. I mean top of the charts, top 50 wines in all of Italy raves.  

At this point, you can either trust the algorithm that got you a ton of other producers or throw it in the trash. So I Googled the E-Mail address of the winery and asked for some samples.  I figured, worst come to worst, I'd braise a cut of beef in it.

When the wines arrived, I was shocked.  About as shocked as I've ever been. 

These wines are made about 300 miles south of Burgundy in the Campania region of Italy.  And yet, stylistically, they have the feel of Burgundy. Such elegance. Such remarkable secondary flavors. Perfect balance. Just absolutely beautiful wines. This is a major, major find for us and these represent stunning values for the price.

The Winery

Campania actually has a good number of very good wines.  Its main city is Naples.  There are some excellent whites on the Amalfi coast  south of Naples.  There are also some excellent wineries in the hills East of Naples including our own Calafe and Lunarossa.

Azienda Agricola Marino is south of those regions along the coast.  It is near the ruins of Paestum, if you are an archeaology buff.  Maybe the sea breezes cool the vineyards.  I don't know.  All I know is that the wines are stunning.  

The winery was founded in 1977 by Lorenzo Marino.  His son Raffaele now runs the estate along with his 3 sons. and his wife.

The Wines

I'm going to start with the white because I don't want to let it get lost in the shuffle.  It's the 2019 Vini Marino Proclamo Cilento Fiano Vendemia Tardiva for $29.99 a bottle on a 4 pack.  This is obviously 100% Fiano di Avellino but its not like any Fiano I've ever had.  An absolutely stunning crazy bottle of wine.  

The nose is totally unexpected. This is harvested later in the fall so you'd expect a blast of tropical fruit but you would be wrong. It has these almost earthy aromas more akin to aged dessert wines like Sauternes or old Mosel Auslese. You get some pleasant earth but also these lovely porcini aromatics. I'm not sure if you've ever shopped in a market in Europe when they have these wooden crates of freshly picked porcinis - but that's what this wine smells like. Also some lovely mineral interlacing. Wow- just gorgeous and
intoxicating and so strikingly original for a dry wine.

The palate is more what you would expect but just oh so much better. Terrific tropical fruit. Very mineral, as you'd expect from Fiano. But the wine has that Burgundian luxuriousness. It just caresses the palate with a weighty substantiveness. Almost like very good Meursault. A kiss of an echo of a honey tang.  Not so much that it triggers the dreaded U word (unctuous) but just enough to balance the wine out. A terrific thread of saltiness. Terrific balancing acidity and so fresh and lively on the palate. Just the absolute complete package and so distinctive.

The second wine is simply gorgeous. A totally unexpectedly gorgeous red wine from the Southern half of Italy that I am just thrilled to be offering. It's the 2012 Vini Marino Proclamo Cilento Aglianico Riserva for $55.99 a bottle each on a 4 pack. If you like elegant wines like Burgundy and old school Cornas, you absolutely positively must try this. These guys are alone on an island making wines like this in this part of Italy. I have positively no idea how on earth they do it. But I can tell you that this wine is absolutely special and world class wine.  Aged 8 years in the cellar.

The nose is about as elegant as you can get. It's almost sensual. Like the wine just sort of snakes its way into your nostrils and caresses them in a purely seductive way. The fruit is blackberry and blueberry spice but that's not what you notice.  There is this subtle richness. Almost a hint of old school well made California Cab (think Diamond Creek or Renaissance). A hint of porcini. A ray of lilac shining through an attic window.  As it aerates, you get remarkably pretty plum flower on the nose. The aromatics are not about any one flavor element.  It's not a fruit forward wine. It's about the seamless integration of these flavors. How they drift in and out of your sensory range as the wine aerates. The balance. It's the stuff of world class wines.  

The palate is an extension of the elegance of the nose. It absolutely pumps juiciness.  Elegant blackberries. Blackberry flower extract. Such perfect silky texture. It just slides across the palate in a persistent yet unobtrusive way.  A hint of spice as a background element. Maximally delicious. It has none of the licorice or potency of fruit that you get with Aglianico.  It's basically as if some brilliant heretic broke the law and planted Aglianico in Burgundy.  

The finish has this palate coating freeze dried blackberry thing going on.  So juicy.  So long.  It stays on the palate so long it's almost like the flavor elements self replicate.

2019 Vini Marino Proclamo Cilento Fiano Vendemia Tardiva - $29.99 

($111.96 4-pack) 

2012 Vini Marino Proclamo Cilento Aglianico Riserva - $57.99 

($223.96 4-pack)