Donnachiara Aglianico Campagnia IGT 2019

Donnachiara is a family owned and operated winery just outside the boundaries of Montefalcione in Avellino. The origins date back to the turn of the 20th century when Chiara Mazzarelli and the noble surgeon, Antonio Petitto got married and started a new project. Five generations of winemaking later, their legacy lives on stronger than ever thanks to one of the most progressive, state of the art winemaking facilities and arguably the best winemaker in Italy.

Riccardo Cotarella is a winemaking superstar and the most famous and well respected consultant in Italy. Robert Parker Jr. himself heaped perhaps the highest praise possible, referring to him as “one of the most influential personalities in the world of wine in the last 20 years.”

Cotarella makes a number of wines at Donnachiara including today’s Aglianico Campagnia IGT that end up on James Suckling’s “$15 wines that Taste like $50”. It shouldn’t be a surprise. A 93-point score isn’t usually slapped on wines that can be had for less than $15/btl like today’s wine. But given the pedigree of the winery, the winemaking prowess and the wine’s accolades, there’s not much that needs to be thought over. If you’re going to try an Aglianico, it should probably be this one.