94 points Vinous Media
Drinking window: 2030 - 2044
The 2020 Aglianico Puro Sangue R20 presents an understated bouquet of dried flowers and herbs, stone dust and blackcurrants. It's pliant and supple with sleek black fruits, nuances of citrus and a lasting inflection of crunchy mineral tones. Chewy and long, the 2020 leaves crunchy tannins and a staining of blackberry concentration.

I walked into Luigi Tecce’s winery for the first time and found not just the new releases but an entire back catalog stretching to nearly his first vintage, 2004. Tecce's wines have impressed me for more than five years, repeatedly outclassing some of Taurasi's biggest names. There's a liveliness and soulfulness to this portfolio. The wines are electric and stimulating yet poised and structured, and they mature beautifully. Today's wines are no longer released under the Taurasi DOCG as Tecce feels the DOCG does not align with his principles, citing mass production and industrial farming. Tecce now labels the wines simply as Aglianico. That's a loss for the DOCG, but not for Tecce, as his cult following snatches up bottles regardless. Readers would do well to seek these wines out.

Our Tasting Note: The pronounced nose here on the Puro Sangue shows primary dark red to black fruits of black cherry, plum, blackberry, with a definitively smoky tone to the nose, savory, smoked roast beef, iron, blood, with tar, wood smoke, and tobacco (I told you this was a beast, but a chiseled one).  The palate is full bodied, med+ acidity, med+ to high youthful grain tannins, the flavor intensity is dimensional, layered.  The finish is long, tannic and structured, with a smoky echo on the close...this is NOT for the faint of heart.  Drink now with 2-3 or MORE hours decanted.  Otherwise put it in the cellar and forget about it for 5 more years, at the least!

Grape: 100% Aglianico
Place: Paternopoli Cru and Castelfranci subzones of Taurasi
Farming: practicing organic
Vineyard: 25 year-old vines, cordone speronato, planted at 1,800 ft ASL in sandy and clay limestone soils, enriched by pyroclastics (pumice from Vesuvius’s ancient volcanic eruptions)
Harvest Dates: between the end of October and beginning of November
Winemaking: Fermentation takes place in open chestnut tini for 40 days.
Aging: Élevage for 12 months in large 500 Liter puncheons, then 24 months in large wooden botti grandi (50HL). Finally, a minimum of 24 months in bottle before release.
ABV: 14%

Puro Sangue is always a bit more put together than the wild child Polifemo. Since the 2018 vintage, Luigi has decided to do away with the Taurasi DOCG and use the moniker R (Riserva) and 20 (2020); it's unlikely he'll return to use the Taurasi DOCG. - Importer