A CAPOSOTT METODO ANCESTRALE

A Caposott is the ancestral method red wine of Raffaele Noviello's Scarpa estate — a companion to the Matti Extra Dry in its commitment to natural sparkling wine production, but applied here to the Aglianico grape of the 2021 vintage in a style that produces a red sparkling wine of considerable personality and genuine distinction. The name carries the Irpinian dialect and the specific character of a winemaker who draws on local identity as much as winemaking tradition.

The wine is produced from 100% Aglianico DOP of the 2021 harvest — racked and transferred into barrique, predominantly French oak, where it undergoes the secondary fermentation that creates its gentle effervescence. The barrique ageing integrates the Aglianico's characteristic firm tannins with the softness that the ancestral method's natural effervescence introduces, producing a wine of elegant balance between structure and freshness.

In the glass, A Caposott presents with a ruddy glow and a magnetic red colour — the visual character of a wine that carries the depth of Aglianico within the lighter, more luminous register that ancestral method production achieves. The nose is rich in aromas of red fruit and spice — the characteristic aromatic profile of Aglianico in its most accessible and elegant expression, here given the additional dimension of autolytic complexity from the barrique contact.

On the palate, the wine is elegant and soft — qualities that the Aglianico grape does not often deliver without extended ageing, but that the particular combination of ancestral method production and French oak barrique achieves here with notable success. The flavour is full and lingering, extending well beyond the expected finish for a wine of this style. A Caposott is described by the estate as having long ageing potential — an unusual claim for an ancestral method sparkling, but one that the Aglianico grape's inherent structure makes entirely credible.

Available through UniqueWines.