The Campi Flegrei region just north of Naples along the coast of Campania is world-renowned for its incredible cuisine. With capers, black olives, fresh seafood, spicy chilies, and food so full of flavor that your taste buds practically explode, the wines from this region are made to pair with a wide variety of dishes and accompany just about anything.
That’s why we LOVE both the whites and reds from La Sibilla, part of the always-inspired Oliver McCrum import portfolio here in California.
Specializing in Falanghina for the whites and Piedirosso for the reds, these indigenous grapes speak to more than just the food of Campania. They speak for the generations of growers and winemakers before them who have been tending these vineyard sites for more than a century.
La Sibilla’s winemaker Luigi di Meo sums it up perfectly: “Our viticultural tradition is the story of our family, and can be represented by the roots of a vine that combine with the soil over the years, going ever deeper in search of minerals. We are like those roots, and for at least five generations we have worked this fascinating and mysterious little outcropping of earth called the Campi Flegrei."
With their original, ungrafted vines and low alcohol levels, the flavor that Luigi packs into every bottle has to be tasted to be believed. If you’ve been curious to taste more of Italy’s incredible variety of indigenous varietals and rustic wine beauty, we can’t think of a better place to start than here.
And check out the great press!
2022 La Sibilla Campi Flegrei Falanghina $18.99
91 POINTS: VINOUS - The 2022 Falanghina mixes savory and sweet with a rich blend of young peaches and mint complemented by hints of raw almond and custard. This splashes across the palate, juicy and spry, showing ripe yellow pits fruits complicated by salty mineral tones that mount toward the close. The 2022 seems to crackle and reverberate with saline tension through the close, as it cleans up beautifully and leaves the senses fully refreshed.
2022 La Sibilla Campi Flegrei Piedirosso $19.99
92 POINTS: VINOUS - The 2022 Piedirosso opens with a wild bouquet of spiced blood orange, white pepper, nectarines and cloves. It’s soft and silky in texture with spicy raspberry fruits and hints of sour citrus complemented by a cascade of tropical inner florals. This unique and beautiful beast finishes lightly structured yet teeming with residual energy, leaving the mouth-watering as hints of tangerine fade. While I can’t imagine aging this for too long in the cellar, the 2022 overdelivers and should continue to do so for at least the next three to five years.