Wines from Puglia

Sessantanni – sixty years old. The age of the gnarled bush vines, which are rooted in traditional Alberello training on the iron oxide-rich terra rossa soils of San Marzano and Sava. This form of training, in which the vines grow low and without wire frames, is labour-intensive, but protects the grapes from the scorching Apulian sun and naturally limits yields – around 3,000 kilograms per hectare. With Sessantanni, Cantine San Marzano has created a label that has significantly shaped the international perception of Apulian wines. The fully ripe grapes are harvested by hand at the end of September. 80 per cent of the must is left to macerate for 18 days, the remaining 20 per cent for 25 days for maximum extraction. Vinification with indigenous yeasts, twelve months of ageing in French and American oak barrels.

Pietrabianca offers a contrast between richness and freshness and seduces with a blend of white flowers, almond paste, wet stone and crushed red pears. Silky and supple, it caresses the palate with an elegant wave of ripe peach and nectarine. Lingers long, leaving a mineral and acidic tension as notes of candied lime fade. Not only is it stunning today, but it has a bright future. SUPERIORE.DE

Puer Apuliae (son of Apulia) is what the De Coratos call their elegant and outstanding quality wine made from 100% Nero di Troia. The flagship in the cellar delights with its balsamic aroma, in which there is room for spices, plums, pickled nuts and black sultanas. The flavour is very concentrated yet juicy, full-bodied and dense, with a long finish and a lovely hint of cranberries and tobacco. SUPERIORE.DE

Charismatic Negroamaro in an accessible and modern style without gimmickry. In the glass, dark lines of blackberries, plums and blackcurrants with generous background notes of chocolate, Indian spices, teriyaki and smoky barbecue sauce. Noble tannins and ripe fruit flavours form a wine that is both contoured and soft and yielding. Masseria Maime is ready to drink at a young age, but can safely mature for another five years or more. SUPERIORE.DE

An amazingly drinkyOttavianello that captures the wild character of Salento in a subtle way. The grapes come from old vines, selectively harvested and matured in barriques for twelve months. The colour in the glass is a light ruby with a transparent shimmer - light, yet full of expression. The nose is characterised by sour cherry, rosehip and delicate violet blossom, accompanied by spicy notes such as cinnamon and clove. Clear and fresh on the palate, with present but delicate acidity and silky tannins. The finish remains elegant, with spicy echoes and Mediterranean minerality. A bold representative of an almost forgotten grape variety - stylish, unusual, independent. For all those who are looking for the real thing and want to enjoy something beyond the usual. SUPERIORE.DE

Deep purple-red colour, distinctive bouquet that does not deny the Apulian home of the Susumaniello and enchants us with a stimulating freshness. Hints of ripe black cherries and fine spicy notes on the palate, dense, harmonious, long-lasting and with beautifully integrated tannins. An original, rustic flavour experience! SUPERIORE.DE

Orion here does not mean the constellation, but a border. The Greek "oros" means edge, dividing line – and that is exactly what this path once was: the ancient road that separated Byzantine lands from Lombard lands, today a quiet country lane right next to the Primitivo vineyards of Masseria Li Veli in Cellino San Marco. History you can feel under your feet. 100% Primitivo, harvested at the end of August, limestone-clay soils, 10 to 20 year old vines – partly Alberello, the ancient Apulian bush vine cultivation style. Fermentation in steel, six months in barrique. Roberto Cotarella holds the line.

The Donna Lisa vineyard is located in the heart of Salice Salentino. The Negroamaro vines are planted in the Pugliese Alberello – the old bush vine training style, which forces each vine to stand on its own. Around 7,000 vines per hectare, on average fifty years old. Those who have been standing in the Salento soil for so long have learnt to make a lot out of a little. Hand-picked at the end of September, maceration at a controlled temperature for at least 13 days, malolactic fermentation, then transferred to French barriques in spring – maturation for around 18 months, followed by at least six months in the bottle.

The Per Lui line does not begin in the cellar, but already on the vine. Before the harvest begins, the berry stalk of each bunch is tied off on the plant – the flow of juice is interrupted and the berry dries in a controlled manner on the living vine. An old Salento trick, here refined into a method: maximum concentration without a drying room, without intervention, just sun and time. 100% Primitivo, Alberello pugliese, argillo-limoso – loamy-silty soil that stores heat and releases it evenly. Vines around 35 years old, harvested in the second decade of September. Maceration for at least 20 days at a controlled 26–28°C, followed by several years in the bottle – no wood, only fruit.

There are wines that reinvent a region. Nero is one such wine – born from a vision of the Zecca brothers in the early 1980s, when they began experimenting with Cabernet Sauvignon at Tenuta Cantalupi near Salice Salentino. What initially seemed like a gamble turned out to be the most successful wine story in Apulia: the first Nero vintage in 1998 hit like a bomb and won the Tre Bicchieri of the Gambero Rosso for six consecutive years – an achievement that no other Apulian wine has ever equalled. The history of Conti Zecca dates back to 1580, when Francesco Antonio Zecca came from Naples to the fertile lands of Leverano, in the heart of Salento. For centuries, the Zeccas cultivated their vineyards with Negroamaro, Primitivo and Aglianico and became key figures in the European wine trade – relations between the Bourbon kingdom and France, England, Sweden and Denmark passed through their estate. In 1884, Pope Leo XIII awarded the family the title of Count in recognition of their services to the development of the territory. In 1935, Count Alcibiade Zecca founded the modern winery in Leverano and began to vinify his own wines. However, it was his heirs who took the decisive step of combining the indigenous Negroamaro with the international Cabernet Sauvignon.

Dunico – unique in the dunes. The name already reveals what distinguishes this wine from all other Primitivo: It comes from vineyards right on the coast, where sandy soils turn into dunes and the vines still grow on their original rootstock, ungrafted, ungrafted, like before the phylloxera catastrophe. It is an absolute rarity today, as most of these coastal vineyards fell victim to the "holiday home building frenzy". What remains are a few plots with ancient bush vines and extremely low yields, which produce a Primitivo of exceptional intensity and concentration. Sandy soil protects against phylloxera – and gives the wine a unique minerality and elegance that is rarely found in Primitivo. The grapes are harvest at the end of August, earlier than all other crus, as the grapes ripen more quickly here due to the proximity to the sea and the warmth of the sand.

1943 – the year in which Angelo Maci was born in Salento. It is therefore no coincidence that this wine bears his name: The "Rosso del Fondatore" is the personal project of the founder of Due Palme, an assemblage that he oversees himself and that expresses his own standards for Puglia. Primitivo and Aglianico in equal parts – two temperaments that complement each other. The Primitivo brings dark fruit and warmth, the Aglianico structure, acidity and length. The grapes are harvested late, fermented in steel and then aged for nine months in new barriques – followed by further bottle ageing. The numbered bottles are not a marketing gimmick: they are an expression of a wine that is owed and given attention.

A wonderfully mature Salice Salentino with character and depth: "Per Lui" Salice Salentino Riserva comes from selected Negroamaro plots that are deeply rooted in the iron-rich soils around Salice. The long maturation in wood - partly barrique, partly tonneau - gives the wine density and expression without jeopardising its balance. Dark ruby red in the glass with a light garnet-red rim. The aroma is warm and complex: black cherry, plum, dried herbs, some tobacco and a hint of cedar. Structured and powerful on the palate, with well-integrated tannins, juicy fruit and a spicy finish. An elegant, mature Salice Salentino that shows its finer, more serious side - very much in the style of the great wines of southern Puglia. SUPERIORE.DE

Selvarossa is a tribute to the autochthonous grape varieties of Salento: the Negroamaro – "niuru maru" in the dialect, "black bitter" – has been rooted in this soil for three thousand years and provides the dark, almost black depth of colour, the solid tannins and the bitter spiciness that justify its name. The Malvasia Nera provides a counterpoint of elegance and soft, velvety fruit. Both grape varieties are cultivated using the traditional Alberello system, the archaic bush training method without wire frames, which offers the vines protection from the scorching heat and naturally limits the yield. The grapes for the Selvarossa come from the oldest, most select plots and are harvested by hand in small crates when perfectly ripe, some even slightly overripe – some even slightly overripe to maximise concentration and sugar content.

Verdeca is a grape variety that hardly anyone knows – and that is no coincidence. For centuries, it was used as the base material for vermouth, was rarely vinified as a single variety and was considered too unspectacular for its own bottle. Yet its history is an ancient one: Greek in origin, it probably arrived in Apulia with the first settlers and became native to the sandy limestone soils of Salento. Masseria Li Veli has given it a stage with the Askos project – and the wine critics have responded. Askos Verdeca is the only Apulian white wine ever to be honoured by Gambero Rosso with its Tre Bicchieri.

The grapes for the Vigna Pedale come from vines that are over 30 years old. The vines are planted in a sapling system, which allows only a few grapes per vine. The harvest does not begin until mid-October, which is very unusual for this location so far south. Purple dark red colour. Spicy aroma of cherries, thyme, wild mushrooms and earth, the typical, unadulterated flavour is strong and concentrated with a subtle sweetness. This wine is already a great pleasure today, but still has potential for the coming years. SUPERIORE.DE

The self as an extension of consciousness – this is how Gianfranco Fino understands the name of this wine. The place where creativity awakens and the future emerges. A philosophy that suits the man his friends once called "Geriatra del Primitivo": The geriatrician who saves old vines where others uproot them. The adventure began in 2004, when the former olive consultant discovered an overgrown vineyard in Manduria. Fino planted a new vineyard for the Sé, following an ancient pattern: Alberello pugliese, the "rabbit ears" of Salento, with 12,000 vines per hectare. Each vine bears only 400 grams of grapes – concentrated essence instead of mass. The chalky-clay soils and the breeze from the Ionian Sea do the rest. After manual harvest and two to three weeks of maceration, the wine matures for nine months in wood, unfiltered and unfined.

Bright, vibrant pink colour. Spicy oak and vanilla nuances complement the aromas of sour red berries, plums and herbs on the inviting nose. GF exudes a very nice freshness that helps to focus and highlight the intense, dense red fruit flavours. It is more reminiscent of a sparkling and racy red wine than a rosé champagne. The long finish is lively and precise, yet multi-layered and complex. Unfortunately, only 3,000 bottles of this masterpiece are produced each year. SUPERIORE.DE

Sigmund Freud defined the "id" as that part of the psyche that only obeys a single principle: lust. Unbridled, unregulated, beyond space and time. When Gianfranco Fino gave his wine this name, it was not marketing – it was a manifesto. In 2004, the former olive consultant bought his first vineyard: just 1.3 hectares near Manduria, planted with Primitivo vines over fifty years old in traditional Alberello cultivation. What began as an experiment became a revolution. Six years later, Fino stood on the stage of the Gambero Rosso and received the "Winemaker of the Year" award – the first ever winemaker from central or southern Italy. In a row with northern Italian legends such as Josko Gravner and Romano Dal Forno.

A mistake made history. Generations of wine lovers translated "Negroamaro" as "black and bitter" – but the name tells a different story: Greek "mavros" and Latin "niger" both mean "black". Black like the berries, black like the night over the Ionian Sea, which has washed this grape variety onto Puglia's coasts since the 8th century BC. So it is no wonder that Gianfranco Fino calls his Negroamaro Jo – after the sea that washes Manduria and whose salty breeze caresses his vineyards. While the Primitivo is Fino's "loud" masterpiece, the Jo whispers. But if you listen carefully, you can hear the whole soul of Salento. The vines, forty years old, grown in classic Alberello bush training, are rooted just a few kilometres from the Ionian Sea in chalky, loamy soil. Each vine bears barely 800 grams of grapes, concentrated essence instead of southern abundance. harvest begins by hand in mid-September, when the berries are already slightly dry. Two to three weeks of maceration, then nine months of ageing in French barriques, half new and half used. No filtration, no fining – fino leaves the wine its integrity.

A Negroamaro with a grand gesture and deep expression: Gianfranco Fino's Jo comes from over 50-year-old Alberello vines, rooted in calcareous and clayey soils not far from the Ionian coast. The 2022 vintage was characterised by heat and drought, but the deep roots of the old vines ensured balance and ripeness. The meticulously selected grapes are fermented spontaneously and matured in French barriques – with the aim of achieving maximum origin and texture.

The wolf's mouth. This is the translation of Bocca di Lupo – a name that captures the wildness of this landscape. Here, in the heart of the Alta Murgia near Minervino Murge, a dream began in 1998: the Antinori family, creators of legendary super Tuscans, recognised the dormant potential of Apulia and invested in a terrain that could not be more barren. Limestone tuff soils, karstic hills, an almost lunar panorama at an altitude of 250-300 metres. But it is precisely this barrenness that is the secret. At the centre of the project: the rediscovery of Aglianico – the noble, once underestimated grape variety that is to find an authentic Apulian voice here. The organically cultivated vines yield slightly overripe grapes that fully develop their phenolic potential. After manual harvesting, the must ferments at 25–27 °C in stainless steel, maceration takes place over 15–18 days with gentle remontages and délestages. Malolactic fermentation takes place in French barriques, where the wine matures for a further 15 months. This is followed by a full 24 months of bottle ageing – this wine is only released onto the market after a total of three years (+).