The Gaglioppo Grape

(Synonyms: Arvino Nero, Cirotana, Gaglioppo di Cirò, Gallopo, Morellino Pizzuto, Navarna.)

Background

Gaglioppo is a red-wine grape originating in Calabria, the “toe” of the Italian boot shape. It is another quite ancient grape, being first cited in early 1240, by which time it was already recognized as a good wine. Modern DNA analyses imply that Gaglioppo is a descendant of the superb Sangiovese grape of Chianti.

Gaglioppo is thought to be at its best in the Cirò D.O.C. Gaglioppo is made elsewhere then Cirò, and such wines can differ in style from the better-known Cirò ones, but they are decidedly less common in the U.S. market.

Possibly the foremost characteristic of Gaglioppo wines is their tannin content. Producers striving for excellence have to take great care in the vinification process to tame those tannins, and the good ones do. Aside from tannin, Gaglioppo wines show excellent fruit, sometimes a “dusty” quality, and often a whiff of roses. They are medium-bodied, and medium-colored.

Cirò wines, and Gaglioppo in general, are rising rapidly in popularity—about as rapidly as wine drinkers world round get to sample those wines. The grape was long disdained because (as is sadly so often the case, especially with Italian wines) since time out of mind the emphasis was on sheer quantity, with scarcely a thought for quality. But the new generation of Calabrian winemakers—who have become known as “The Cirò Boys”, as a light-hearted parallel to “The Barolo Boys”—have been working hard collaboratively to raise the level of regional winemaking and the quality of the wines. And by all reports, they have been quite successful.

Factoid: There is an entire web site dedicated solely to Gaglioppo: Gaglioppo.com.

Some Descriptions of Gaglioppo Wines

Wikipedia
“The grape produces wine that is full-bodied, high in alcohol and tannins with a need for considerable time in the bottle for it to soften in character. It is sometimes blended with up to 10% white wine.”
Wine Searcher
“Gaglioppo is a southern Italian grape variety best known for producing soft red wines from the mountainous Ciro DOC in Calabria. The variety is the main grape in this part of Italy and has been used in the region for centuries. It produces varietal red wine that is typified by a range of crushed berry flavors, often accented by cherry and spicy secondary notes…In Ciro, Gaglioppo vines are grown at high altitudes to protect them against the hot southern Italian climate. Many producers choose to pick early in the season to help retain good levels of acidity and to prevent the fruit from tasting too jammy and stewed once vinified. It is also important that producers control their fermentation temperatures, as Gaglioppo can easily oxidize and lose its structure if allowed to overheat. Long maceration times will help coax out Gaglioppo’s shy tannins.”
Wine Folly
“A delicious, rare find from Calabria that is the child grape of Sangiovese and sibling to Sicily’s Nerello Mascalese. Wines often deliver dusty fruit flavors.”
Serious Eats
“It’s a late ripening grape that, depending on the altitude and soil, is capable of yielding wines of varying weights and styles. For most, Cirò—Calabria’s most well-known region…—may be their only reference point for Gaglioppo. The wines that hail from this low-lying, arid D.O.C.…yield the most powerful and tannic expressions of the grape…Conversely, the lesser-known expressions of Gaglioppo grown in Calabria’s higher altitude vineyards—in D.O.C.s like Savuto—expose the grape’s sensitive side. The best examples…yield a leaner, floral variation on Gaglioppo with plenty of acidity and an earthy, ever-so-enigmatic edge.”
World’s Best Wines
“This grape produces wines that are full-bodied as to their properties and entertain good levels of tannins and alcohol in a considerable time. Gaglioppo produces various varietal red wines which is typified by a range of several crushed berry flavors, very much accented by spicy and cherry notes.”
Robert Camuto, Wine Spectator
“Good Cirò reds can be fine food wines that pair deliciously with spicy cuisine like Calabria’s. Because young Gaglioppo tends to be astringent and bitter, the challenge has been to smooth out its rough tannic edges…For Cirò reds that means years in tank, barrel and bottle before release. Local DOC rules require more than two years of aging for Cirò riservas, but most new-wave producers wait three or four years to release their top reds.”
Katarina Andersson, Grapevine Adventures
“When a Gaglioppo is done right it can be an amazing and elegant red wine with notes of red berries, shrub herbs, i.e. have a herby undertone, be mineral and savoury. [Cirò winemaker] Cataldo Calabretta told me that a red Cirò DOC wine (100% Gaglioppo) in general has an elegant and complex nose and austere tannins. I agree with him on this.”
Loren Sonkin, Into Wine
“While the skin of the grape is thick, it does not have a lot of tannins. To produce quality wines, producers must be willing let the grapes get fully ripe and then allow the juice to have contact with the skins for a long time to absorb both color and the tannins for structure. To do this well requires temperature controlled modern equipment which can be expensive. There are few producers willing to invest the money and make quality wines.”

Some Gaglioppos to Try

Note that owing to the paucity of Gaglioppo-based wines in the U.S. market, some of the wines shown below may be scarcer than we like for these lists.

For a Splurge

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This page was last modified on Saturday, 30 October 2021, at 11:26 pm Pacific Time.

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