ROBERT PARKER Wine Advocate (Antonio Galloni)

Perillo - Taurasi Riserva 2004   93 pts   The 2004 Taurasi Riserva flows with wild cherries, ash, cured meats, spices, licorice and leather. This is a long, beautifully balanced Taurasi Riserva with gorgeous harmony and persistence. Flowers and mint add further shades of complexity on the elegant finish. The 2004 needs a few years to become fully expressive, but it is clearly highly promising, even at this early stage.
These three Taurasis from Perillo are all impressive.

Perillo - Taurasi Riserva 2003   90 pts   The 2003 Taurasi Riserva is richer and deeper than the 2004 but lacks that wine’s delineation and clarity. Instead, readers will find a lovely roundness, plushness and overall sense of accessibility that make the 2003 absolutely delicious today. Hints of chocolate, worn-in leather and spices round out this tasty Taurasi.

Perillo - Taurasi Riserva 2001   93 pts   The 2001 Taurasi Riserva is remarkably fresh and vibrant, showing just how noble Aglianico can be. Roses, red cherries, spices and licorice are among the nuances that emerge as this youthful, vigorous Taurasi gradually opens up in the glass. The fruit remains surprisingly bright and focused for a wine that is nearly ten years old! An attractive spiciness adds further delineation on the silky finish. The 2001 is beautiful and totally refined – and it is just beginning to enter its prime drinking window. This isn’t a huge Taurasi, but rather a wine that impresses for its understated elegance.

Perillo - Coda di Volpe 2007    88 pts   The 2007 Irpinia Bianco Coda di Volpe offers up plenty of floral white peaches in a medium-bodied, crisp style. This easygoing, refreshing white is best enjoyed in its exuberant youth. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2011.

Perillo - Taurasi 2003    92 pts   The estate's 2003 Taurasi is a rich, dense wine made in a more fleshy and generous style than the 2004. Black cherries, spices, minerals and violets all come together in an extremely fresh, vibrant wine bursting with awesome clarity and poise. The wine continues to develop beautifully in the glass, showing superb balance and an utterly engaging personality. The firm Aglianico tannins are there, but the wine's impressive depth provides a perfect foil to the structural components. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2018.

Perillo - Taurasi 2004    91 + pts   The estate's 2004 Taurasi is made in a fairly restrained style. Smoke, wild cherries and flowers are some of the nuances that emerge from this silky, medium-bodied offering. The wine displays considerable freshness and clean minerally notes on the finish, which should allow it to develop nicely in bottle over the coming years. Today the wine remains tightly wound and in need of at least another year in bottle. It may very well merit a higher score in a year or two.  Michele Perillo's tiny estate is located in Castelfranci, which Taurasi lovers will recognize as one of the most famous zones  for Aglianico in Irpinia.

I VINI D'ITALIA – L'ESPRESSO 2009
Michele Perillo is a cordial and affable man, but he is also a scrupulous and disciplined winemaker. Constantly at the the top of its class, his Taurasi boasts exuberant tannins an represents on of the most stimulating wines in the elite of the Aglianico landscape.
Taurasi Riserva 2004 5 Bottles (Top score) 

GAMBERO ROSSO
Michele Perillo is now the authoritative voice of the unique subzone of Castelfranci… which creates wines of power and restless impetuosity demonstrated perfectly in his Taurasi 2003.
*TAURASI 2005 3 BICCHIERI  * Taurasi 2003 – 2 Bicchieri

LUCIANO PIGNATARO
The Taurasi 2003 is a very demanding wine and cannot be approached lightly. The nose is rich of ripe red fruit, balanced between sweetness and freshness. A predominant note of cocoa continues on the palate as well. The bottle is rapidly drunk thanks its sweet and soft character that balance its explosive power. Perillo enters the elite of classic Taurasi producers.
The Coda di Volpe 2007 is impressive and speaks at length of the great potential of this grape. Characterized by an austere minerality, the wine is very intense, persistent and well structured. Its notable lively freshness bodes well for long and graceful ageing for years to come.