2018 Mastroberardino Falanghina del Sannio Campania Italy 750 ml

The 2018 Mastroberardino Falaghina del Sannio is a needle-in-a-haystack bottle—an ultra-delicious value whose combination of personality and price makes it all but impossible to imitate.

Brilliant pale straw in hue, perfumed with precise notes of stone fruit, jasmine, and almonds, mineral-driven, refreshing, and brilliantly acidic, it’s a white with an unmistakably Italian soul. And at just $18 per bottle, it can compete with the greatest under-$20 values on either side of the Atlantic.

An ancient grape restored to fame by the Mastroberardino family, Falanghina drinks like a lively cross between Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay, combining the zip and vibrancy of the Mediterranean coast with a weighty sleekness filled with orchard and tropical fruit. You’ll want to drink this straight out of the ice bucket with a plate of canapés, waking up the palate for the herb-flecked fish that’s about to come off the grill—which is exactly how we first discovered it while dining on the breathtaking Amalfi Coast.

Well-known varieties like Chardonnay fetch higher prices by cashing in on the popularity of their varietal name. The underdog Falanghina has to earn it, and this wine does so, plus interest! A heritage porch-pounder that’s remarkably expressive of place, this is just too special to resist at $18.

Falanghina is a variety of antiquity, believed to be the basis of the legendary Falernian wine revered by the Romans. The name is derived from falangae, Latin for supporting stakes. For all its pedigree, the grape might have been lost to history were it not for the efforts of the Mastroberardino family, which has been producing wine in the Campania region of Southern Italy since 1878.

Guardians of the region’s viniculture, they specialize in cultivating ancient, indigenous grapes, resisting the urge to plant more easily marketable varieties. That dedication to tradition, a throughline running strong through ten generations, is achieved today with a state-of-the-art facility where grapes from 14 estates are handled.

This bottle hails from the Mastroberardino’s Apice property in Sannio, where vines grow on south-eastern facing slopes of volcanic and sandy-loam soils rich with minerals. It’s this unique terroir that gives the wine its light-footed grace, with a whisper of smoke. Despite the dry heat of the region, coastal breezes off the Tyrrhenian Sea cool grapes off, maintaining a bright and lively acidity infused with a hint of sea-spray salinity.

Fermenting at low temperatures in stainless steel preserves freshness and fleshy fruit character, while three months of aging on the lees introduces a lovely roundness to the wine.

You could search high and low for years and not find a bottle of this quality and bracing Italian charm at this price. We did the haystack searching for you, and came up with a rare, hard-to-match $18 deal.