Aglianico

The great red of Italy's south. Aglianico is ancient in Campania and Basilicata, where the hills of the old Falernian country — Rome's most celebrated wine — rise not far from its strongholds; the flattering derivation of its name from "Hellenic" is now doubted by scholars, which leaves the vine simply, obscurely old.

Its habits are extreme: budding early, ripening ferociously late — the harvest on the hills of Taurasi and the volcanic slopes of Monte Vulture runs into November — and carrying tannin and acid few Italian reds can match. "Barolo of the South" is both the cliché and the compliment: tar and black cherry over a dark mineral sternness, wines that demand a decade and repay two.