Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Rosso

“Tears of Christ” is the most evocative wine name in Italy, and the legend behind it is worth repeating: Lucifer, cast out of heaven, took a piece of paradise with him and dropped it into the Bay of Naples; Christ, weeping over the theft, let his tears fall on the slopes of Vesuvius, and vines grew where they landed. Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Rosso is the superior red tier within the Vesuvio DOC — not a separate appellation but a stricter designation inside it, demanding higher minimum alcohol and lower yields than the base Vesuvio Rosso.

Grape Varieties The wine is built on Piedirosso, called Per’ e Palummo in Neapolitan dialect — “dove’s foot”, after the red stems of a ripe bunch. It is a difficult variety: late-ripening, thin-skinned, low in tannin, and inclined to give something thin and vegetal if pushed for yield. Aglianico is permitted as a minority partner and is widely used to supply the colour, acidity and grip that Piedirosso does not have on its own. Sciascinoso turns up occasionally in older plantings.

The Terroir Black volcanic sand and lapilli on the flanks of an active volcano, draining instantly and holding almost no organic matter. Because phylloxera cannot survive in sand, a great many vines here are ungrafted and old, and the low pergola persists on the steeper parcels. Altitude runs from roughly 150 to 600 metres, and the highest sites inside the national park — cooler, with a wide day-night swing — are where the wines find the freshness that separates a serious Lacryma Christi from a souvenir bottle.

The Style Pale to medium ruby, and deliberately so; anyone expecting a dark southern red will be surprised. The nose is the identifying feature — geranium and dried herb over sour red cherry, with a smoky, ashy note underneath that comes from nowhere else. On the palate it is light-bodied, high in acid, low in tannin, and savoury rather than fruity. Drink it within about five years. It gains nothing from oak, which a number of producers unfortunately continue to apply.

The Critical Take A sommelier’s wine, and an increasingly fashionable one: it does what a light, chillable, savoury red is supposed to do, and it has the advantage of tasting like a specific place rather than a style. The best examples come from growers working the high slopes; the worst are made for the tourist trade along the coast road and are worth avoiding.

At the Table Serve it cool, 14–15°C — not a suggestion but the point of the wine. Neapolitan pizza above all, then pasta with tomato, grilled vegetables, salumi, fried fish, and the young sheep’s cheeses of the Campanian interior.

Benchmark Producers Sorrentino, Cantina del Vesuvio, Casa Setaro, Villa Dora.