MASSERIA STARNALI

CAMPANIA • BIODYNAMIC

mucci imports masserai starnali

Falanghina Roccamonfina IGT

mucci imports masserai starnali

Entering the property of Masseria Starnali is like stepping back in time. After winding through the mountain roads of Galluccio, you arrive at a farm that seems to be the only occupant of the isolated slopes of Roccamonfina. They do have neighbors on this ancient volcano, and they do have modern amenities, but both are scarce. Masseria, farm in English, is exactly that, with everyday life revolving around nothing but what is grown and raised on the property.

With all that said, it was a surprise to taste one of the most inventive and progressive wines we have tried in the simplistic living room of Maria Teresa and her son Lugi. In the background, Luigi’s two young children run around the table giggling and shouting, in the foreground, Luigi and our enologist friend Gennaro discuss why a bit of skin contact goes such a long way in the making of Starnali’s Falanghina. In a relatively young and inexperienced winemaking career, Luigi was not afraid to tinker and experiment, and the resulting Falanghina surely paid off.

mucci imports masserai starnali

Maria Teresa purchased the property of Masseria Starnali along with her late husband over 30 years ago. The property was originally used to hunt starnali, a local pheasant-like bird, but that has stopped ever since it became a protected part of the Roccamonfina national park. In 2005 Maria Teresa built the cellar with the dream in mind of making the wines they do today. The properties’ 30 hectares, 7 which are planted to vine, lie on the northern edge of this extinct volcano, with 450 meters of elevation and ocean breezes leading to a noticeable diurnal range.

All of the property is farmed biodynamically, with no fertilizer or pesticides used and practically everything done in house. Maria Teresa runs a small agrotourism while Luigi tends to the farming and agriculture, which includes taking care of a dozen or so small pigs. Major production here is for the local chestnuts, which grow throughout the property. Luigi had initially been selling his grapes along with his father for the past 30 years, and only recently started his own winemaking 7 years ago. Over those 7 years, he explains that everything has been trial and error, and vintage to vintage is a learning experience. His beliefs in no pesticides or fertilizer are so adamant that he will be losing a great deal of his red grapes to a water mold this vintage.

Aside from the chestnuts, eggplants, pomodoro, olive oil, and fresh salsiccia produced here, there are of course the wines. Grown on a mix of ancient volcanic soil along with clay and calcerous components, the terroir at this elevation is quite unique. Very woodsy terrain, extreme diurnal range, and ocean influence from nearby Gaeta, the wines here are quite different from most Campanian wines, both on the Falanghina side and Aglianico/Piedirosso blends. There seems to be a benefit to living in such an isolated place and constantly tending to the land, as Luigi doesn’t have the time to care or be influenced by the styles of wine around him, he just makes what he feels is best.

mucci imports masserai starnali

mucci imports masserai starnali santo sano

Santo Sano

Varietal : Aglianico, Piedirosso

NOTES

Elevation, volcanic soil, and cooler temperatures in northern Campania yield one of the regions most elegant expressions of Aglianico. This wine boasta complexity rivaling that of Taurasi along with firm tannin and floral notes from the Piedorosso.

Deep enough for the heartiest of meats, but acidity and freshness to pair with fresh marinara.

Grapes are harvested in the week of October because of such cool temperatures. Spontaneous fermentation and 8-10 days on the skins occurs in stainless steel. Depending on the vintage up to 20% of the wine will age in small French oak, but for the most part this wine sees only stainless steel.

mucci imports masserai starnali conte di galluccio

Conte di Galluccio

Varietal : Aglianico 100%

NOTES

This wine is aptly named the “count of Galluccio,” Galluccio being the mountaintop village where Masseria Starnali is located. This wine picks up where the Santo Sano leaves off and delivers even more on the rusticity of great Aglianico. There is more intensity of tannin here but one again should note the overall elegance of these wines.

Very mature cheeses, grilled meats or stews.

This wine will undergo double the maceration of the Santo Sano and ferment naturally in stainless steel. The wine will rest in stainless for 6 months before being moved to small French tonneau where it will age for a year, if not longer. Generally these wines are thrown back into stainless steel before bottling and any sediment you come across in the bottle is a sign that the wines has not been filtered.

mucci imports masserai starnali maresa

Maresa

Falanghina Roccamonfina IGT

Varietal : Falanghina 100%

NOTES

Named for Luigi’s mother Maria Teresa, this is one of our favorite finds from a very remote part of Campania. As a result of great terroir and unique viniculture, the wine tends to have more structure, acid, and complexity than most Falanghinas. Notes of grapefruit, green apple, and steely minerality, including a hint of ocean air.

Fresh cheeses, fish dishes. At the winery, they will serve local chestnut soup with white beans and rosemary, and even pair this with fresh tomato sauce with sprinkled in peperoncino.

For the first few years of production, the wine achieved at this elevation was not quite what Luigi wanted in terms of depth and structure. Even with a harvest as late as the second week of October for the white grapes, there still seemed to be something missing, His solution, have half the the fermenting juice begin the process with four days on the skins, remove the skins, then ferment the rest. This along with malolactic fermentation (acidity is naturally high enough for MLF) leads to a more complete wine. The minimal use of sulfites allows both fermentation processes to occur naturally. The wine is released after some time in stainless steel.

Ferlu

Varietal : Aglianico 100%

NOTES

We are excited for the arrival of Ferlu, which debuted in 2020. You have to respect Starnali who have really stuck to what they are good at in a world of fellow natural wine producers, who continue to create new labels almost annually. Ferlu is an Aglianico coming from 400 meters that spends less than 5 days on skins. It ages only in stainlees steel and is bottled essentially when Luigi is ready to start selling it. Expect to see a lot of this wine in the future as unfortunately the Roccamonfina is a very difficult place to make wine and on the vintages that have hit Starnali the hardest they have produced exclusively Ferlu and not Santo Sano and Conte di Galluccio.

Honestly this wine is so food friendly, try it with everything. Beware that there are still tannins and it is stil definitively Aglianico but it’s light and fun. You can even throw it on the fridge on a hot day and serve it with a summery pasta followed by grilled meats. Once this bottle is open it will go fast!

This fruit will be picked slightly earlier than the other reds to maintain acidity. It will spend 5 days on skins and go into stainless steel. Luigi rarely moves the wine and does not filter or fine.

Visit Masseria Starnali’s Website
(Available in English!)

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