Our Italian wine buyer found a real gem from the heart of the Aglianico del Vulture zone of Basilicata in southern Italy. The soil here is volcanic so the wines usually have a pronounced minerality, earthiness, rich fruit, and amazing color. The Musto-Carmelitano Serra del Prete exhibits every one of these qualities and more. As soon as you pour it in the glass you know it's going to be a great wine: deep, deep color and a nose that's just spectacular with minerals, some earth, and herbs.
About twenty years ago, Elisabetta Musto-Carmelitano's uncle Giuseppe declared that his then 8-year-old niece would inherit the property that he had painstakingly built up since his return from years as a POW in Australia. She took that call to stewardship seriously, and has since taken on the creation of a rather impressive winery. Betty has been running the show since she was in her teens, and is out to make the best Aglianico possible with her prime real estate. Some off her vines are a whopping 90+ years old, while some are only a "mere" forty.
