The 2015 Don Anselmo is a bold and elegant red from Southern Italy’s volcanic Vulture region. Made from old Aglianico vines, it offers rich dark fruit, smoky and spicy notes, with firm tannins that promise great aging. It’s a great wine to enjoy with hearty meals or to cellar for a few more years.

The Wine Advocate | RP 95
Published: Nov 30, 2018
Drink: 2018-2035

The 2015 Aglianico del Vulture Don Anselmo sees fruit sourced from a 4.5-hectare single vineyard located at 600 meters above sea level. Soils are composed of compressed ash and crushed volcanic sponge rock. The wine opens to tangy fruit aromas that are brooding and thick. Background aromas of tar, smoke and cigar ash give the wine dimension and complexity. The wine is tight in terms of its texture and tannins and could use a few more years of bottle aging before you pop the cork. Fruit was harvested on the 23rd and 24th of October. Don Anselmo is fermented in equal parts steel vat and oak barrel. It then ages in wood for 20 months, followed by an additional six months in steel (that replaced older cement vats). The 2015 vintage is hitting the market now. 

A few years back, Vito Paternoster and his family took on outside investors for joint ownership of this leading estate in Barile on the Vulture volcano. That investor is the Tommasi Family Estates in Valpolicella, Veneto (Northern Italy). This powerhouse marriage should succeed in giving Paternoster more visibility domestically and abroad. Tommasi owns estates in Lombardy, Tuscany and Puglia (in addition to Valpolicella, of course). Founded in 1925, Paternoster makes some of the most interesting wines in Southern Italy, and the estate (with 90 hectares of vineyards on the volcano) is a true gem.

Jamessuckling.com | JS 93
Published: Oct 22, 2018

This is a delicious and exotic red with clove, tea-leaf and ripe-fruit aromas and flavors. Full body, soft tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Anise coming through at the end. Delicious finish. Drink now.

Jancisrobinson.com | JR 16
Published: May 10, 2021
Drink: 2019-2023

The fruit for Don Anselmo is sourced from 4 hectares in the commune of Barile, in the hamlet of Gelosia, 50-year-old vines at 600 m above sea level characterised by very low yields (3,500–4,000 kg/ha). Fermentation and maceration on the skins in stainless steel for 15–18 days at 25–28 °C with pumping over three times a day until the fermentation is three-quarters complete, followed by délestages. Maturation, half in large Slavonian oak casks and half French barriques (used once previously), for 24 months. A further 12 months’ bottle-ageing before release.
Mid bright crimson. Dramatically bright fruit with a little more of an agricultural tinge than some Aglianicos. Firm and dry and this could do with just a tad more fruit in the middle. Perhaps it is past its best?

Paternosterwine.it

Don Anselmo is an iconic symbol of the history, roots and continuity of the Paternoster winery and Aglianico wines from Monte Vulture in Basilicata. Year after year, this wine named after the founder, Anselmo Paternoster, reaps critical acclaim, and should be in the cellar of every dedicated Italian wine enthusiast. Many believed the late-ripening Aglianico could never achieve greatness. The Paternoster family saw the potential of the volcanic soil, rich in tuff, able to give a degree of depth and complexity to wines capable of ageing for decades. Meticulous work in some of the denomination?s best vineyards, separate vinification, blending, and intelligent use of wood aging complete one of Italy's, if not the world?s top red wines.

Tasting Note
Bright, deep ruby red; on the nose it displays a broad, complex bouquet, with notes of red fruits, leather, balsamic herbs and dark spices. On the palate it is dry and potent, with great structure and elegance and an extremely long finish.

Serving Suggestions
A fine wine for roasts, particularly of lamb and red meats; it is also an excellent meditation wine. 

Origin
4 hectares in the commune of Barile, in the hamlet of Gelosia. 50 year-old vines (Paternoster?s historical and ampelographic heritage) lying at 600 meters above sea level; very low yields (3,500-4000 kg per hectare).

Grapes
Aglianico del Vulture 100%

Vinification and Maturation
The grapes are picked by hand; classic red wine fermentation. Fermentation and maceration on the skins in stainless steel for 15-18 days at 25-28C with pumping over 3 times a day until  of the fermentation is complete, followed by d?lestages. Maturation in large Slavonian oak casks for 50% and in French barriques (used once previously) for the remaining 50% for 24 months. Bottle-aging for 12 months.

Ageing
Paternoster wines age in the traditional Slavonian and French oak casks to reach important aromatic notes, colour nuances and complexity. In this context, dated 1925, we can find the origins and the great history of Vulture oenology.

Alcohol
14% by vol.

Serving Temp.
18C in calice ampio