VIGNETI TARDIS
-
Bruno de Conciliis is a romantic, almost a caricature of the Italian philosopher, simultaneously finding beauty and heartache in everything. He studied art and Italian literature in university, connecting with Umberto Eco in 1979 in Bologna. A 1980 earthquake rocked his hometown, and he felt compelled to return south. He realized the true value of the land was its people, and Campanians were disenfranchised.
-
He began growing medicinal plants, collaborating with the earliest biodynamic organizations in Italy, but quickly realized their politics didn’t align with his own. He ended up working a series of well-paying but soulless jobs, slowly falling in love with wine. With the birth of his daughter imminent, he knew he didn’t want to raise his child or live his life under a corporate shadow. He called up his elderly father, a farmer for the regional co-op, and begged him to give him a chance to make his own wines.
His first release was in 1996, making this one of the earliest bottled fine wines from a region renowned for bulk production. His conversion to organics also made him a bit of a spectacle, not to mention the higher wages he paid his employees. From the start, this was an investment in a place.
-
Cilento is coastal, a protected marine park and a UNESCO heritage site. Bruno’s vineyards are all within three kilometres of the ocean. Like clockwork, cool breezes come off the water twice a day, tempering the Mediterranean climate. Campania is famed for its volcanic soils (ash and lava flows), but Cilento was underwater during the last major eruptions from Vesuvius, making its soils entirely unique. You’ll find limestone, sandstone, and clay, the last of which allows Bruno to dry farm. He strongly believes vines produce the best grapes when forced to drive their roots deep underground in search of water instead of being babied by irrigation.
Where possible, he works with selection massale. Modern clonal selections of indigenous grape varieties don’t have the complexity of older stock and ignore the beauty of Aglianico’s power. Some may fear its propensity for high alcohol (17.5% in 2008), but Bruno would rather celebrate its idiosyncrasies.
-
In the winery, he’s a minimalist but not dogmatic. He aims for low levels of SO2, but some vintages have gone as high as 50 ppm if they’ve needed it. In 2003, the heatwave drove the pHs of his whites up to nearly 4.0, which necessitated the addition of tartaric acid; he’s only had to do it once, but he’d rather the wine be clean and drinkable at the end of the year. The winery has been off the grid, relying on solar panels, since 2007.
In 2017, he began Vigneti Tardis, a collaboration with UK sommelier Jack Lewens. They aimed to bring ethically farmed minimal intervention wines to the masses, highlighting this unsung region. He also has a side project in Kenya, planting the country's first vines and producing coffee.
MORE FROM ITALY: PACINA | CANTINA MARILINA
2021 MERCOLEDI FIANO
The Fiano for this wine is grown on alluvial and clay soils. The grapes are destemmed and after an overnight maceration the juice is pressed off into stainless steel tank for fermentation and élevage. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with just over 30ppm of SO2.
2021 LUNEDI ROSATO
This wine is made primarily from Primitivo grown on granite, limestone, and schist. The grapes are destemmed and after a few hours of maceration the juice is pressed off into stainless steel tank. It ferments on Fiano skins for tend days before being pressed for élevage. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered with 30ppm of SO2.
2020 MARTEDI AGLIANICO
This wine is made from Aglianico grown on limestone and schist. The grapes are destemmed and fermented on skins for 3-4 days before being pressed off into tank. This shorter maceration time tames some of this variety’s brutish tannins. After élevage the wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with 30ppm of SO2.
Find This Wine
2018 GIOVEDI AGLIANICO
This wine comes from their most prized vineyard in Acciaroli, Cilento. The site is adjacent to the coast, reaping the benefits of the cooling breezes and reflected light. Limestone, granite, and schist make up the steeply sloped terraces. The grapes are destemmed and fermented on skins before the wine is pressed off into old oak barrels for élevage. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered with 25ppm of SO2. Just over 200 cases were produced. 14% ABV
