Grifalco Gricos Aglianico del Vulture

Gricos is Grifalco's everyday Aglianico del Vulture, made from the younger vines across their Basilicata sites. Black cherry and black pepper on the nose, floral on the palate, with the graphite minerality typical of Vulture. Certified organic fruit grown on volcanic soil at 500 metres, aged six months in a mix of large barrel and barrique, then six months in stainless steel. Meaty and substantial, but vinified in a forward style meant to be drunk young.

Monte Vulture is an extinct volcano in northern Basilicata. Grifalco's vineyards climb its slopes across four sites between 450 and 580 metres. Each parcel carries its own mix of ash, iron-rich sand and limestone clay.

Fabrizio and Cecilia Piccin founded the estate in 2004, after twenty years making wine in Tuscany. They named it Grifalco by joining two symbols. The griffin comes from their old home in Montepulciano, the falcon stands for Monte Vulture, their new one. Their sons Lorenzo and Andrea now run the winemaking and the commercial side.

Pour it with grilled meats, pork ragu or a hard aged cheese. It's built to drink young, not put away.