Barile, Vulture – Basilicata
I have always interpreted Aglianico as an austere wine with a difficult character, a bit like Montepulciano. In fact it is so. Like the Montepulciano it develops in different areas that give it original characteristics depending on the terroir it comes from, Vulture is one of these. Aglianico del Vulture is mainly cultivated on soils made up of clay and tuffaceous rocks at the base of an extinct volcano; Mount Vulture. Barile is a charming village that develops at the base of Mount Vulture with a typical landscape of the southern Apennines: outcropping rocks, Mediterranean vegetation, oak and chestnut groves where vineyards and olive trees often alternate. Many old cellars are carved into the rock from which rises out a pleasant smell of wine that is spread through the alleys of the town. It is no coinsidence the beauty and harshness of this place caught the attention of Pier Paolo Pasolini, where he set some scenes of his film ‘The Gospel according to Matthew’. The viticulture of Barile takes place in a typically high hill environment on the edge of the mountains, difficult but at the same time unique. Thanks to my work colleagues I visited the Paternoster winery, one of the historical wine realities of the area. The excellent Fabio Mecca, oenologist of the company, told us about the history and traditions of his family, the importance that Barile had in characterizing the qualities of Aglianico, as well as amazing us through the story of the ancient sparkling wines that they made in this area. At this point it seems appropriate to say that there is no Aglianico without Barile.
