2020 Tempa di Zoè, Paestum Fiano IGT 6 “Asterìas” Cilento, Campania, Italy.
Tempa di Zoè’s new project is all about promoting the ancient terroir of Cilento and the Paestum zone and includes a set of wines mostly focused on the Aglianico grape, but also includes this crisply mineral driven Fiano, which impresses for its balance and depth of flavor. This pale straw and golden hued 2020 6 Asterìas shows off white peach, racy citrus, quince and melon fruits on the lighter framed medium bodied palate along with a salty essence of the sea, wet stones, snappy herbs, almond oil and delicate white flowers. This 100% Fiano was fermented and macerated exclusively in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks and then matured for close to 11 months, in a combination of 60% steel tanks and 40% which was rested in large well used 10HL oak barrels. Everything done here is to allow for authentic terroir character and transparency, while also enhancing the experience with just the right amount of textural presence, which in this 2020 version is executed to near perfection. I’m excited to taste the rest of the lineup here and will certainly be following this label into the future, and this is an interesting and seductive example of Fiano, which I recommend looking for.
Tempa di Zoè, founded by Bruno De Conciliis, who’s name sake winery I’ve long been a fan of, now includes some of the south’s most passionate wine growers, with Feudi di San Gregorio being involved now, with Francesco Domini, Vincenzo D’Orta and Bruno De Conciliis all playing roles here. The name Tempa di Zoè refers not only to a physical place; it is, above all, a declaration of intent. “Tempa” is the word for the rolling hills of Cilento that stretch down to the sea from north to south. Zoè is the Greek word for the essence of life, the universal principle common to the animal, vegetable and mineral worlds. Asterìas, which means starfish in Greek is the first white wine in the Tempa di Zoè lineup, and is made from Fiano grapes. n that come from their vineyard that is nestled between the Monte Stella and the Tyrrhenian Sea. Monte Stella is a massif in Cilento National Park that towers up to 1,131 meters above sea level and Its peak looms large over the whole region and provides inspiration. Interestingly, while most of the Campania region is volcanic by nature, Cilento is blessed with a unique sedimentary schist layering of sandstone and marl. This, the winery notes, gives a specific minerality and results in a particular salty and savory character for both the reds, based on Aglianico, and the Fiano-based whites, as seen here.
($26 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive