It’s been 10 years since Milena Pepe moved to Italy from Belgium, to grab with both hands the opportunity to let the wine family business in which the father, Cavalier Angelo Pepe (who gives the name to the winery) has invested the profits of his restaurant in Belgium.

10 years of investments in Irpinia area, inland of Campania region (southern Italy) with its hilly character, where blood and origins of Milena have harmoniously combined with her experience in France as well as in Belgium.

10 years of successes, personal goals and professional developments, difficulties and satisfactions, ambitions and disappointments, effort and pride.

So if we want to fully address the vertical tasting (=same wine, same winery, different vintages) of the red wine “Taurasi”, organized to celebrate such an important anniversary, we cannot only describe the single vintages: revealing what was going on behind the scenes, in addition to the analysis of the microclimate conditions, might make the reading more complete.

 

And within such an… “international” spirit also the vertical tasting was held “out of Irpinia (where the winery is located)” and led by the notorious Italian wine&food critic Luciano Pignataro. Specifically it has taken place at Al Chiar di Luna restaurant on the coast of Naples (still Campania region-southern Italy) where we clearly spoke of “marriage” between the food products of this coast and the wines of the inland of Campania region of course signed by Tenuta Cavalier Pepe, as right after the vertical tasting we enjoyed a great lunch where local products were wonderfully paired to all other wines of the winery.

Mr. Luciano Pignataro has been a perfect figure as he had been one of the first counselor of Milena regarding a territory (Irpinia area) in development and which, in fact, is running alone in the relevant Italian wine fair Vinitaly, investing in a separate pavilion from the regional one of Campania. But, she was also accompanied by her son Angelo, he is only a child but he seems to enjoy the family business already!

“Donc”, as Milena would introduce with her French accent, we started tasting the most recent vintage, 2010, going back to 2005, although here I will examine them in reverse order.

 

2005

• Vintage

Good fruit and even a good freshness in the mouth despite its 10 years, but on the other hand this is not a source of wonder as 10 years tend to be the perfect time to wait to really appreciate this wonderful red “Taurasi”. This was a hard vintage that marked the initiation of ms. Milena in Irpinia area, in southern Italy. The wine shows a medium complexity ranging from aromas of black fruits to sweet spices and light toasted ones.

•  Behind the scene

It is the first vintage of Milena, who comes from afar and must gain the confidence of all. Being young, blonde and with a French accent -that still characterizes her- it’s easy to imagine that it was not easy, despite her skills! This is why she decided to call her Taurasi “Opera mia” (meaning “my job”): a wine for which she risked everything and I mean everything as she told us that in that period she fell down from a ladder at a height of almost 3 meters. The funny thing came when at the hospital they asked if she was married and so if her husband had tried to kill her! Also on that occasion Milena faced all by herself to not give any concern to her parents across the border.

 

2006

• Vintage

Another difficult vintage, even if a little bit better than the last one (2005); in this wine there is still a good trace of acidity which is the skeleton of a wine and which is helping this wine still performing that well.

 

• Behind the scene

The background is still the one which sees Milena trying to lead the winery alone despite the support of her relatives who run the vineyard even before her arrival. So, being them prepared in viticulture but without much experience in wine making, Milena was free to apply her experiences in the cellar and face this new grape, Mr. Aglianico! The discussions arose in the vineyards

when Milena started to make grapes’ selection to improve the quality of the wines. Well, they were not used to it at all so they called her father  denouncing “Your daughter throws the grapes out, can you believe it?!”… but I think that mr. Angelo Pepe did not need to wait very long to realize that everything was going right!

 

2007: CLASSIC + RESERVE

• Vintage 

The vintage was quite easy, with the right temperature, the right climate trend and so a nearly perfect ripening of the grapes. This is what we find in the glass, the wine is certainly ready, juicy and very pleasant. At the nose it has a great intensity with fruity aromas of plum,  and also a floral touch; the taste is full, rich, round, complex with balsamic aromas at the end. We had the basic Taurasi as well as Riserva 2007 with even more fruits and greater intensity than the basic one; an immediate wine, with aromas of black fruits jam, the tannin is evident but well integrated. Certainly harmonious.

•  Behind the scene

2007 is an important year for Milena: for example in the cellar they abandoned the use of tannins in fermentation and the result is clear: the wines are finer and elegant. Who knows if this choice is linked to the opening of Milena to associations. Just in 2007 she became -for example- adviser of the consortium “Wines of Irpinia”.

 

2008: CLASSIC + RESERVE

•  Vintage

Still a beautiful vintage that gives us a royal wine! Both the basic Taurasi and the Riserva version turn out as excellent products. The “classic” one is complex with aromas of small red berries, a vegetable touch and also tobacco. In the mouth the freshness is well balanced with soft sensations. Same for the reserve, even more elegant and ample, offering aromas of black cherries and spices on the nose; silky in the mouth. They both show to be still young somehow, we can surely drink them later on.

• Behind the scene

Tasting the 2 reserves (2007 and 2008) we discover another element of the company: Milena reveals, in fact, that she releases the classic Taurasi a little later than the times required by the regulations of this wine in this region, to give it the right time to express its best. But then what is the difference between the Reserve and the classic version (considering the reserve differs because it ages longer) The answer is easy: there are additional attentions in producing a reserve: from harvesting the grapes by hand to an even more rigid selection of those and the fulling by hand.

 

2009

•  Vintage

This is also a difficult vintage when there was a rare phenomenon for the area: the formation of mold, usually countered for example by good ventilation. For this reason  they did not produce the reserve. At the nose the wine offers a sweet touch, fruity and toasted aromas. Also on the palate you can feel the touch of the wood that will evolve with time.

•  Behind the scene

2009 is an important year for the life of Milena because she marries Augusto who then quickly became the father of her two sons. The wedding is celebrated at the restaurant La Collina on which she had already started to invest in previous years to complete a larger project of wine tourism. The theme is very dear to her so she has many wine tourist packages: from the well-organized tour in the cellar to the wine tastings and lunch at the restaurant; moreover she always take part to specific initiatives (eg. Open Cellars, Welcome Harvest, Christmas in the cellar).

 

2010

•  Vintage

This wine is not on the market yet. Given the difficult vintage they have not produced a  reserve and tasting it turns out as a very young wine. The nose has aromas of citrus and a certain pungency, the wine portend a good evolution; at the palate it shows lovely freshness and tannins still a bit astringent but the wine is charming with a touch of species. It  shows its personality and fascinates many.

•  Behind the scene

 

The new winery is nearly ready and Milena does not forget to thank his father nicely: he invested the profits of his work in this project actually and she only “enjoy” to manage them.

The result seems to be clear in the glass: the wines are already appreciated in Italy and abroad!