Montevetrano was founded 25 years ago by Silvia Imperato, a photographer who developed a passion for wine after one of her favourite subjects invited her to a wine tasting group in Rome. Her family had a piece of land in Salerno, and she decided with the help of consulting oenologist Riccardo Cotarella to make wine. The idea was to make Bordeaux wines with a local touch – a sort of “Sassicaia of the South”. Production started very small – 6000 bottles per year – and when the wine started to sell out every year this was increased to 30000. What makes this estate rather special today is that they have always put all of their energies in to making just one wine (until recently when a pure Aglianico was added to the range), and they have stocks of nearly every vintage they have ever made. This makes for a rare and exciting opportunity to put together a vertical offer with impeccable provenance, the wines coming straight from the estate, pre-aged. Though the wines were always more Bordeaux than Campania, typically 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Aglianico, from 2010 there was a shift towards using more Aglianico as temperatures were increasing, making it more difficult to produce the quality that they wanted from the Bordeaux grapes. The new style is very exciting, showing a more linear quality and reminiscent of the wines further north in Piedmont. The future is very bright at the estate, but in the meantime we are very pleased to have some mature vintages to offer (and to drink!)