Venerabile Confraternita della BM Taurasi Riserva

Only twice in Joaquin’s history—first in 2009, and most recently in 2015—has Raffaele produced this wine: a selection of a few of the harvest’s most promising barrels which he allows to age a staggering six-and-a-half years before bottling and releases a full decade after the vintage. The wine takes its name from an old inscription in the stone entrance to his home village’s church; the “B.M.” stands for “buona morte”—a phrase meaning “good death” (akin to “Rest in Peace”). This rather gothic allusion befits a wine whose brooding depth seems to speak of something so elemental as to be beyond human comprehension; this is ancientvine Aglianico pushed to its absolute limits of expression. Interestingly, despite its extreme aging regimen, “Venerabile Confraternita” is neither heavier nor grippier than the more frequently produced “Riserva della Società” despite its 15.5% alcohol. A maelstrom of clove, tobacco, and black pepper settles into a palate of murmuring intensity buoyed by bright acidity and elongated by fine, savory tannins. While Raffaele has already kindly done a fair bit of aging on our behalf, this monumental wine has decades of upside potential.