Stefania Barbot
United in life as well as in their passion for wine and the landscape of Irpinia, Stefania Barbot and Erminio Spezia transformed their dream into a real-life journey, establishing their estate in Paternopoli, a sub-appellation of Irpinia, home of the imposing Aglianico grape. They joined two other young wineries within their Campi Taurasini DOC in a project named “Comuni nel Vino”, spearheaded by enologist Vincenzo Mercurio whose vision was to produce a more “authentic” Aglianico - a fresh wine of the highest quality that was ready to drink, a year after harvest. Thus Campi Taurasini can be viewed as the younger brother of Taurasi, one with a more spirited and less austere personality.
The Barbot vineyards, organically cultivated, total about three hectares on a small plateau around 500 meters in altitude and sit on clay-limestone deposits from sediments of the great Mount Vesuvius. Vines derived from 70 year-old strains, still cultivated according to the old Irpinia “starsete” system (where vine branches fan out like the spokes of a wheel, rather than trained in rows) grow alongside the newer pruned-spur cordon-trained plants.
The yields are low and the wines are but two...
“ION” is ancient Greek for “violet” - a clear reference to the wine’s color and taste. “FREN”, as in the Greek “spirit” , expresses in its name the essence of the old Aglianico vines grown in “starsete”. The result - a Taurasi undeniably true to its territory of origin.
Wines in Portfolio
Stefania Barbot ION
Stefania Barbot Fren Taurasi