Wine of the Month, February 2023
Lapilli Greco di Tufo
2021
Campania
Italy
£14.50 + 100 bonus loyalty points
We've off to the Naples area this month or to be more specific the limestone hill country that lies east of Mount Vesuvius. Earthquakes are a perennial hazard around here as exemplified by the infamous 1980 Irpinia quake in which nearly 2,500 people were killed and made a lot of the local Camorra gangs rich from the money that funded the subsequent reconstruction. What interests us, though, is that some of Southern Italy's best whites come from here making it well worthy of our attention.
Despite being in the hot south of the country, the altitude takes the edge off the temperatures, which is why white wines feature strongly around here in the province of Avellino. The best regarded are Taurasi, Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo and it's a particularly expressive example of the latter that we're featuring for February.
Greco di Tufo is actually both an area and a grape variety. It's generally reckoned that it arrived around the small town of Tufo along with ancient Greeks who settled locally in the first century BC so it has a bit of history in these parts. Over the centuries the wine's reputation was built on its subtle aromas, ripe stone fruit flavours and crisp mineral complexity. The limestone soils of the undulating countryside are well-suited to bringing out the best characteristics of the grape which, due to the relative cool of the local climate, are not usually harvested until October each year.
The producer, Lapilli, is a family concern who've been meticulously tending local vineyards since the mid-1990s. The ones for their Greco di Tufo sit at an elevation of about 500m around the hill towns of Tufo and Montefusco and the wine is made under the supervision of the highly experienced Marco Flacco.
This is a region renowned for premium whites many that come with prices to match, but we're really pleased that Lapilli make theirs for a pretty modest price which still manages to display everything that makes Greco di Tufo so sought after. Either all by itself or paired or paired with white meats or fish it's really moreish and thoroughly recommended.
Starting on Friday 27th January and throughout February it's available at £14.50 per bottle singly, or as part of a Mixed Six and for every bottle purchased you'll earn a bonus 100 loyalty points as well (that's worth £1.00 on redemption)
Check out the details here
Wine of the Month, February 2023
