2015 Benito Ferrara Greco di Tufo Vigna Cicogna 750 ml

“One of Italy’s 20 Best White Wines” — Antonio Galloni

When it comes to verbalizing matters of the heart, it’s tough to beat the Italians — particularly when speaking of one of Italy’s most floral and exotic whites, made by one of the country’s most revered producers.

Greco, the Italian white grape variety grown in Campania, was first brought to Italy in the 1st century B.C. by the Pelasgian, an ancient Greek people from the region of Thessaly. An inscription found on an ancient fresco in Pompeii reads “You are truly cold, Bytis, made of ice, if last night not even Greco wine could warm you up.” Such is the aphrodisiacal magic of world-class Greco di Tufo.

Gabriella Ferrara and her husband, Sergio, manage the small estate that’s been in the Ferrara family for generations. This 8-hectare planting lies in the district of San Palo within the commune of Tufo, the finest growing region for Greco. Enjoying perfect southern exposure 500 meters above sea level, the microclimate is cool and breezy, cleansing and protecting clusters. Curiously, the family’s Greco vineyards — first planted in 1940 — sit next to abandoned sulphur mines. Gabriella and her consulting enologist, Paolo Caciorgna, claim the mines impart the extraordinary mineral overtones that so distinguish what most in southern Italy believe to be Campania’s finest Greco di Tufo.

It was at Marea on Central Park that we were offered our first taste of Gabriella’s exquisite Greco di Tufo. Paired with grilled octopus, smoked potatoes, and pickled red onion, Ferrara’s Greco was magnificent, highlighting without dominating the smoky saltiness of the dish.

Kevin O’Connor treated us to a bottle of Ferrara’s 2014 Greco di Tufo Vigna Cicogna at his restaurant, Aestus, on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica. The avid collector and co-owner of LIOCO told us he’d been buying Ferrara’s Greco for over 20 years. Paired with Scallops “A La Plancha,” it wasn’t too difficult to understand why.

A day later, we put in a call. We asked for 75 cases. No dice. They offered 50. We took ‘em all. On January 28th, WineAccess members purchased all 600 bottles in three hours. Then the ratings poured in. Ferrara’s single-vineyard Greco di Tufo “Vigna Cicogna” earned an average rating of 4.2 stars out of 5, making this perennial Tre Bicchieri winner also one of the highest-rated white wines ever featured on WineAccess.

The sensational 2015 Greco di Tufo Vigna Cicogna is brilliant straw-yellow. Terrifically mineral, with vibrant scents of honey, apricot, peach, and ginger. Rich, supple, and juicy on the attack, infused with superb tension, filled with an exotic mix of white peach, pear, and ripe apple, tinged with sweet Tuscan herbs. As always with “Vigna Cicogna,” it’s on the back palate that that Ferrera’s Greco distances itself from the rest — finishing with excellent tension and precision, arguing gracefully for a 7- to 10-year slumber in the coolest of cellars.

Total production of “one of Italy’s 20 best white wines,” according to Antonio Galloni, was 1,000 cases, 50 of which have again been earmarked for WineAccess. $29 on release. Just $21 today. Direct Import, right from the Ferrara family’s cellar in Tufo.