Italiano
Sorrentino: three generations of winemakers on Mt Vesuvius
The Sorrentino family’s wines are made from native grapes grown on ungrafted vines.
It all began with Benigna - the grandmother of Giuseppe, Benny and Maria Paola Sorrentino - who during the Second World War preserved and protected the family’s ungrafted, native grapes – local biotypes – as well as the fruit and vegetables grown on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius.
During the 1990s, Paolo Sorrentino and his wife Angela transformed the family wine estate into a holiday farm, opening the doors to many wine lovers from around the world. Today, as back then, the new generation respects tradition and enhance the value of the area even more by making wines from ungrafted vines that are trained using the traditional pergola method and cultivated organically, rigorously following every step in production.
Walking through the Sorrentino vineyards means stepping on the dark and porous lavatic soil that is layered due to various volcanic eruptions over the centuries that sent streams of lava down Vesuvius’ southeastern slope where their 35 hectares of vineyards are situated. The composition of the soil - made up of pumice stone, sand and lapillus - has protected the vines from parasites, including phylloxera.
With Caprettone, Coda di Volpe, Falanghina, Piedirosso and Aglianico grapes, the Sorrentino family cultivates the fruits of a piece of paradise on the Bay of Naples, as the Lacryma Christi legend goes, a wine that was produced centuries before Christ.
The following reviews are of a tasting of DOC Lacryma Christi that, in my view, shows – by tasting – all the Sorrentino family’s commitment, research and passion and in which the roughness of the land is transformed into the “gentleness” of the wine.
Vigna Lapillo Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Bianco 2014
A blend of 80% Caprettone and 20% Falanghina made in stainless steel. The wine has a straw-yellow color and distinct aromas of nettles, chamomile and fresh freesia that serve as a background for a subtle hydrocarbon note. The mouthfeel is taut, saline and fresh with an agile body and a long and subtle finish.
Bottles produced: 15,000.
91/100
€ 12,00
Vigna Lapillo Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Bianco 2016
A blend of 80% Caprettone and 20% Falanghina made in stainless steel. A bright, yellow-green color with scents of white peach, almond and hints of flint that usher in a dynamic and broad mouthfeel distinguished by its freshness and distinct personality followed by a marine finish.
Bottles produced: 15,000.
90/100
€ 12,00
Vigna Lapillo Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Bianco 2017
A blend of 80% Caprettone and 20% Falanghina made in stainless steel. A straw-yellow floor and floral and varietal scents of wild flower, citron and aromatic herbs. The mouthfeel has an iodine background and a distinct freshness. A pleasing and wonderfully drinkable wine.
Bottles produced: 15,000.
91/100
€ 12,00
Vigna Lapillo Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Rosso 2015
A blend of 80% Piedirosso and 20% Aglianico made in stainless steel and matured in barrels for ten months. A luminous, ruby-red color and a bouquet composed of alternating scents of red fruit and light, balsamic hints. The mouthfeel is ample and progressive, fresh, with integrated tannins and an excellent, long and persistent finish. A pleasing wine deliciously drinkable.
Bottles produced: 20,000.
90/100
€ 15,00
