While searching the latest and greatest on Mr. Parker's site, we stumbled across Terredora's two high scoring Taurasi's from the 2004 vintage.  What would southern Italy have to offer especially the Campania region?

We were very anxious to get an opportunity to try these wines however the Pago Dei Fusi would not be available till October.  Before the arrival of the Pago Dei Fusi and as our excitement grew we decided to pick a bottle of the  Terredora Taurasi for an evening tasting.  What was this wine going to taste like compared to the Pago Dei Fusi?  After our first taste of this wine in the tasting room, I was certain I had to enjoy a bottle of this wine with food.  I took it with me to a local hotspot and enjoyed it with a nice plate of braised short ribs! 

2004 Terredora Taurasi
The Taurasi was massive on the palate and proved to be every part of the 100% Aglianico grape.  Tar overtook the palate and a spicy cracked pepper finished out the taste. Scents of anise and tobacco filled the nose and hints of cherry stuck out through the finish of the smell. 

An impressive 94 point from Antonio Galloni
$44.99/btl-$539.88/case

The long anticipated wait for the arrival has finally come upon us and on Tuesday we anxiously watched the clock waiting for it to turn 5:00pm to pull the cork and taste the Pago Dei Fusi. 

2004 Terredora Taurasi Pago dei Fusi
Also made from 100% Aglianico, our initial thought was this wine was going to be huge.  We decanted the wine for 2 hours and thus at 5:00pm we took our first sips.  Soft and subtle finish allowed for the massive beginning to flow over the palate for what seemed like an eternity.  The wine showed the utmost class and attention to detail that you would expect from the Campania region.  To our surprise the Pago dei Fusi was not nearly as bold as one would come to recognize or attribute to the Aglianico grape. In fact, it was much more refined on the palate than its sibling. Either way, both Taurasi's deserve every bit of the point scores they received.

95+ AG from erobertparker.com
$49.99/btl-$599.88/case