Luigi Maffini

Italy, Campania

Luigi Maffini's vineyards are on the coast of Campania, south of Naples, across the bay from Positano, and planted with the local grapes, Fiano for the whites and Aglianico for the reds. While the family's first vines were planted in the seventies, the real beginning of this winery dates from 1996.

Luigi and his wife Raffaella are both graduates of Naples university in agricultural sciences. Luigi specialised in viticulture and winemaking. Ten years elapsed between our first tasting of his wines and getting Luigi 'on board', but he has now been with L&S since 2009.

Raffaella and Luigi run the vineyards organically, and share the land with their two children and three dogs, as well as hares, foxes, hedgehogs, hawks and wild boar, with which they are happy to live in peace. There are now two vineyard sites, at Castellabate and Giungano, so some of the wines are DOC Cilento and some DOC Paestum.

You can read more about the estate on Sarah Marsh's blog 'The English Nose'

Cilento presents a landscape that is remarkably different from Taurasi and Avellino. Many vineyards are within sight of the coast, yet with mountains just a few kilometers to the east. This region has shown that it, too, can create long-aging Aglianicos of depth and power and Fianos with mineral intensity and energy to spare. Luigi Maffini has mastered both of these categories. Maffini, along with his wife, Raffaella Gallo, produces what I consider a modern-day take on Campania classics. The richness and warm-climate fruit of Cilento marry a polished sheen of refinement and enriching minerality that adds a lovely contrast. Vintage after vintage, the Rosso Kleos and Fiano Kratos (I reviewed the 2022鈥攖he current vintage鈥攊n April 2023) represent two of the best values from the region today, while the Aglianico Cenito and Siop茅 are amongst the best Taurasi has to offer. While there are new oak imprints within both wines, the integration should continue to blend beautifully as the wines mature. Finding the higher-end Siop茅 can be difficult in some markets, especially in the 2019 vintage, where Luigi Maffini really outdid himself. Eric Guido, www.vinous.com  (May 2024)


Luigi Maffini, an estate that excels at producing racy, radiant wines, packed full of character, and with the potential to excel in the cellar. Eric Guido, www.vinous.com  (Jan 2022)


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