Ciro Picariello 2021 Fiano di Avellino ‘Ciro 906’ Campania

The holy grail of Fiano is Picariello 906, representing old vines at high altitudes. Purity is the name of the game here, with elegance and lift from limestone and fossilized volcanic soils. Truly an experience.

I never really knew Fiano until I tasted Ciro Picariello, a passionate Contadino “farmer” of Fiano of the hills of Avellino in central Campania.  His vineyard and winemaking practices produce wines of strong varietal character and precision in the glass, reminding this sommelier of the Loire and Burgundy. Ciro organically farms Fiano at altitudes up to 650 meters (2100 feet) and tends to pick his grapes late in the season, balancing the effects of the cool alpine climate. All of his wines are fermented naturally and left on the fine sediment during the aging process. This is his flagship bottling called Ciro 906. Only made in the cooler vintages from a single parcel of vines planted at exactly 650 meters in the early 90’s, ‘Ciro 906’ is the best Fiano di Avellino I’ve ever had! Funny thing is, I first encountered this wine only a few months back and had to keep checking back with the importer the price was correct. For what you receive in the glass, this should be a pricy wine. I wish I had filmed the evening I opened a bottle for the first time while cooking dinner. My neighbors must have thought I was nuts, “woah, ohhh... ahhh!”. I won’t bother with too much lofty language, except this: finger lime, confit meyer lemon, crushed minerals, sugar-soaked white nectarine and lots of what I refer to as ‘energy’ from volcanic and limestone soils.

WINEMAKER: Ciro Picariello and wife

VARIETAL: 100% Fiano

APPELLATION: Avellino

REGION: Campania

IN THE VINEYARD: organic

IN THE WINERY: native yeasts, no fine or filter

ABV%: 12.5