This small appellation in the Apennine foothills of Campania is not called ‘The Barolo of the south’ for nothing!  And we’ve had many wonderful experiences over the years with wines like Mastroberardino’s marvelous Taurasi Riserva and Antonio Caggiano’s Old School masterpieces, but Tenuta Capaldo’s Gulielmus is something else entirely.  This five-hectare estate is a pure passion project for Feudi di San Gregorio’s legendary owner Antonio Capaldo.  Feudi, the 400-pound gorilla of Taurasi, had become so large that Antonio felt he had lost touch with the soil and it became a mission for him to create something new, much more hands-on and a lot more focused on the unique terroir of his native region.  The eponymous new project is small- very small- a one-red and a one-white small.  The red, a 100% Aglianico, comes from a single two-hectare site sitting at 700 meters in Sala, in the heart of the Taurasi growing sone.  The vines were progenerated from extremely old material- some vines that actually predated phylloxera- and produce deeply concentrated fruit rich in the  aromas and flavors of this very singular part of southern Italy.  Capaldo ages the wine for two years in smaller oak barrels and then in bottle for two more years in order to mellow some of Aglianico’s ferocious natural tannins.  It creates an end result made more complex by its pure simplicity: Taurasi played through, if you will, an amazing sound system- crystal clear, incredibly focused and a window into the very soul of all that makes this amazing piece of the world so special.  Dark as pitch and as pungent and wild as the arid hills on which it was grown, aromatically, Gulielmus evokes wild herbs and bracken, faded rose and, more than anything, a core of deep, deep dark, dusky plum-mulberry fruit. On the palate, it’s plush, pleasing and really full until the crescendo where the wine once again reminds you it’s Aglianico with its really bright acidity and firm, life-giving tannins.  Not Beethoven, perhaps. More like ‘Switched-On-Bach!’  Drink this ultra-distinctive red young with spicy, meaty tomato-based sauces, lamb- especially grilled, braised, or grilled beef. Richer or aged cow’s or sheep’s milk cheeses are also natural partners.  The 2017, the last vintage we had, was really, a tour de force, a category-changing wine you all loved.  The 2019, now on the water from Italy, promises to be even better!