Mastroberardino 2024 Radici Fiano di Avellino DOCG 750ml

Fiano nearly disappeared. Before the Mastroberardino family took up the cause of reviving Campania's ancient native grape varieties in the decades after the Second World War, Fiano, Greco, and Aglianico were all headed toward extinction as commercial varieties — casualties of an Italian wine industry that had, for a time, largely turned its attention elsewhere. Mastroberardino's efforts didn't just save these grapes from disappearing. They ignited a genuine resurgence in quality wine production across all of Southern Italy, and Radici — the winery's flagship Fiano di Avellino — stands today as the clearest possible proof of what that patient, decades-long work accomplished.

The name itself means "roots," a deliberate reference to the depth of the family's connection to this land — the branch depicted on the label comes from a historic painting by Micozzi, still visible on the vaulted ceilings of Mastroberardino's own cellar. The wine is sourced entirely from the Santo Stefano del Sole estate vineyard, a site the winery describes as a genuine reference point for Fiano di Avellino production: 550 meters above sea level, southwest-facing, on deep sandy-loam soils rich in mineral substances and naturally well-draining. Grapes are hand-harvested in the second half of October — a notably late picking date that allows the variety's full aromatic and structural complexity to develop — then vinified entirely in stainless steel before three to four months of bottle refinement prior to release.

The 2024 vintage carries a Wine-Searcher critic aggregate of 93 points, among the highest scores this wine has achieved in over a decade of vintages and placing it among the top-rated Fiano di Avellino wines produced anywhere. James Suckling found "green apple and lime aromas with some lemongrass and sea salt. It's medium-bodied, crisp and delicious, with crunchy green melon in the aftertaste." The producer's own tasting notes describe a bouquet of pear, pineapple, citrus, and dried fruit over a floral background of acacia and hawthorn, with grapefruit confirming on the palate where freshness and softness coexist, closing on a creamy trail of dried fruit. One recent vintage assessment called this wine, without qualification, "the undisputed benchmark for southern Italian whites" — Fiano at its most serious and structural, a wine built to age and capable of developing genuine honeyed complexity over the next decade.

Origins & Craftsmanship

The Mastroberardino family are widely credited as the primary force behind the revival and elevation of Irpinian and Campanian winemaking in the decades following World War II — leaders in Italian viticulture whose dedicated work with the region's ancient native varieties, Fiano, Greco, and Aglianico, effectively rescued grapes that had been sliding toward commercial extinction and rebuilt them into varieties recognized today as world-class. Radici — Italian for "roots" — is the family's flagship expression of that mission, its label bearing a branch taken from a historic painting by Micozzi that still adorns the vaulted ceilings of the winery's own historic cellar.

The wine is produced entirely from the Santo Stefano del Sole estate vineyard, which Mastroberardino specifically identifies as a reference-point site for Fiano di Avellino production. The vineyard sits at 550 meters above sea level with a southwest exposure, on deep sandy-loam soils rich in mineral elements and naturally well-draining — conditions that together allow for both freshness and genuine structural density in the finished wine, an unusual combination for a variety that can, in less careful hands, produce something considerably simpler. Grapes are hand-harvested in the second half of October, vinified entirely in stainless steel to preserve the fruit's natural aromatic profile, and refined in bottle for three to four months before release.

Critics Reviews

Wine Enthusiast — 94 Points:
"The nose gleams with aromas of new leather, white peach, raw almond and lime that comfort and invigorate. Notes of honey dew, green apple and lemon join more limes and white peaches on an exuberant palate, before a nutty, grassy finish. "

Wine Spectator — 90 Points

James Suckling:
"Green apple and lime aromas with some lemongrass and sea salt. It's medium-bodied, crisp and delicious, with crunchy green melon in the aftertaste. Sustainable. Drink now."

Wine-Searcher aggregate — 93 Points (2024 vintage)

Producer official tasting notes:
"Straw yellow, opens its bouquet on fruity tones of pear, pineapple, citrus and dried fruit, on a floral background of acacia and hawthorn. Confirms the citrus note of grapefruit, to the taste, where freshness and softness coexist. It closes on a creamy trail of dried fruit."

Wine-Searcher aggregate community (house style, recent-vintage context):
"The 2024 Mastroberardino 'Radici' Fiano d'Avellino is the undisputed benchmark for southern Italian whites... this is Fiano at its most serious and structural... savory, saline, and incredibly persistent."

Tasting Profile

Nose
Straw yellow with greenish reflections — a color of genuine freshness and vitality. Green apple and lime open the nose, joined by lemongrass and sea salt. Pear, pineapple, citrus, and dried fruit build over a floral background of acacia and hawthorn, alongside toasted hazelnut and smoke — the variety's signature aromatic markers when grown at Santo Stefano del Sole's specific altitude and exposure.

Palate
Medium-bodied, crisp, and delicious — crunchy green melon carries through the aftertaste alongside a confirming citrus note of grapefruit, where freshness and softness coexist in genuine balance. A waxy, textured mouthfeel is balanced by volcanic minerality and sharp acidity, savory and saline throughout.

Finish
Long and incredibly persistent, closing on a creamy trail of dried fruit. A honeyed note lingers at the very close — the mark of a wine built not simply for immediate enjoyment but for real cellar development, with the potential to develop genuine complexity over the next decade.

Quick Overview

Food Pairings

• White meats and shellfish
• Velvety chickpea soup with prawns — the producer's own specific recommendation
• Fresh cheeses
• Lightly spiced Asian cuisine
• Fish dishes and seafood