After 147 years of history, Mastroberardino signs its first Metodo Classico: a long-awaited step, thought out and perfectly consistent with the vision of the historic Irpinia winery. Thus Ripe d’Altura and Ell’èNoir were born, a project that tells the story of Irpinia through the finesse of bubbles. Antonella Amodio tells us about it.
1878 is a date that weighs like a milestone in the history of Italian wine. From a small winery in Atripalda, the Mastroberardino family begins a journey that not only saves varieties such as Aglianico, Greco and Fiano from extinction, but redefines viticulture in southern Italy. Today, after more than a century and a half of research, innovation and dogged loyalty to the land, the historic winery takes a new step: the birth of Metodo Classico Mastroberardino, a project that brings the elegance of bubbles inside one of the country’s most identifiable oenological heritages.
It is not a simple debut, but the opening of a new chapter in which terroir, history and technique dialogue in a balance that has the flavor of evolution. To enter the world of bubbles after 147 years and to do so with two such defined interpretations is a statement of style. Telling the tale are two wines: Ripe d’Altura, Blanc de Blancs, and Ell’èNoir, Blanc de Noirs. Both Metodo Classico Pas Dosé, aged on yeasts for 30 months, are the result of a different and complementary reading of the Irpinian grape varieties, with a common thread made of elegance and character: the Mastroberardino style, now led by Piero, at the helm since the 1990s.
The Sense of Metodo Classico for Mastroberardino
The arrival of these wines is not a fad, but the natural continuation of a thought that has always put territory, identity and research at the center. “It is since 2021 that the Metodo Classico project has been in place. As a technique we adopt that of the perpetual tank to give depth and continuity and, for the first release, we are at 30 months on the lees with the goal of reaching 48-60 months.”, says Piero Mastroberardino.
- Ripe d’Altura, Irpinia Bianco Spumante Doc, based on Greco and Falanghina, comes from a pair of vines that knows well the language of freshness. Soft, selective pressing to extract only the free-run juice, fermentation in steel and small-format wood (500 L tonneau and 225 L barrique) at controlled temperatures: the result is a subtle, taut and clean wine.
- Ell’èNoir, Irpinia Aglianico Vinificato in Bianco Spumante Doc, with a red soul but white elegance, is also made from the flower must alone, to preserve delicacy and finesse. Fermented in steel, tonneau and barrique, it has a more nocturnal personality: tension, structure, a more austere and deeper touch, in which Aglianico reveals a surprising vocation for high-precision sparkling.
Sun and Moon: the rip-off label that tells two souls
Making the design even more recognizable is the aesthetics of the bottles: an openable label that reveals artwork designed to physically interact with the customer through a tear. Gold for the stylized sun of Ripe d’Altura – light, energy, luminosity. Silver for Ell’èNoir moon (name recalls Hellenic, hence Aglianico, and the blackness of the grape): mystery and nocturnal depth. Two distinct visions for two equally distinct sensory experiences.
From 1878 to the present, Mastroberardino continues to move along a fine line: evolving without reneging, innovate without losing memory. With Ripe d’Altura and Ell’èNoir, the winery adds to its story a new way of telling the story of the land, through bubbles that speak the language of Irpinia with an accent of the highest profile.
Irpinia Bianco Spumante Ripe d’Altura
Score: 93/100
Average price in wine shop: € 33,00
70% Falanghina, 30% Greco. Classic method, 30 months on the lees. Undosed. Bright straw yellow, fine, dense perlage. Aromas of hazelnut, citrus and a floral touch. The sip is subtle, vibrant and savory, supported by excellent acid shoulder and persistence.
Irpinia Aglianico Vinificato in Bianco Spumante Ell’èNoir
Score: 95/100
Average price in wine shop: € 36,00
100% Aglianico. Classic method, 30 months on the lees. Undosed. Brilliant straw yellow, fine and persistent perlage. Deep and austere, with notes of roots, dried fruit, citrus and bread crust. Sleek on the palate, showing prominent acidity, savoriness and a long, lingering finish. Elegant.
