WTN: 2003 Villa Carafa Greco di Tufo
Photo by Melissa Schneider.
One thing I like about wine clubs run by good merchants, versus those run by wineries, is that I often get to try wine I've never had before. Usually, prior exposure to similar wines gives me the ability to predict something about the wine before I've tasted it, but every now and then I get something that has little to no context for me, and I get to spend some time rummaging through wine books for information about a previously unknown area.
Like, say, Greco di Tufo, an appellation in Italy's Campania region, not too far from Naples. It's a DOCG, Italy's highest type of appellation, but that's a recent promotion: It was a normal DOC until February 2003. The appellation takes its name from the Greco di Tufo grape, which is just the Greco Bianco grape grown around the town of Tufo. It's an important distinction because Tufo gets its name from the tufa soil underneath it, which also runs through the Touraine region of France's Loire Valley. You probably won't be surprised to learn that the Greeks brought this grape to Italy long ago—there's a reference to it on a fresco in Pompeii—and The Oxford Companion to Wine asserts that it's the progenitor for numerous other white grapes.
But what does it taste like? The wines often have a grapey character, but the 2003 Villa Carafa was like a cold mountain spring: crisp, minerally, and refreshing. You could almost smell the searing acidity, even beyond the citrus aromas. And the minerals! Granite, soapstone, and an almost metallic element. The finish, which leaves a taste of apple must, is on the short side of medium. It's not a wine to cellar but if you like this style it's worth grabbing. (I don't have the price handy, but a quick search puts it around $15 or so)
Like most Italian wines, it shows better with food than on its own. It screams for shellfish, but it went well with chicken legs braised in vermouth.
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