“Selvarossa” Salice Salentino Riserva DOP 2021

Cantine Due Palme | Puglia
Soc. Coop. Agricola Cantine Due Palme | Via San Marco 130 | IT 72020 Cellino San Marco

15042521 · 0,75 l · 21,20 €/l · Price (DE) incl. VAT, excl. Shippingavailable immediately

For over three decades, this Salice Salentino Riserva has been the undisputed flagship of Cantine Due Palme – and a wine that proves year after year that greatness and a co-operative structure need not be a contradiction in terms. The Tre Bicchieri of the Gambero Rosso? For Selvarossa, this has long been a subscription. No other Apulian red wine has won this top award so consistently, and at a price-pleasure ratio that even cuvées four times more expensive regularly fail to achieve. The story of Selvarossa begins shortly after the turn of the millennium, when Angelo Maci – fourth generation of an old winemaking family and founder of Due Palme – realised his vision of uncompromising quality production. What began in 1989 with fifteen members now unites over a thousand winegrowers who together cultivate 2,500 hectares of vineyards in the provinces of Brindisi, Lecce and Taranto. The name Selvarossa – "red forest" – refers to the characteristic red-coloured, clayey soils around Cellino San Marco, rich in minerals, graphite and iron oxides, which give the terroir its unmistakable character.

Selvarossa is a tribute to the indigenous 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.

Intense, impenetrable ruby red colour with scarlet, almost amaranth red reflections. The bouquet unfolds opulent, multi-layered aromas: ripe cherries and cherry jam, plums, dates, blackcurrants, plus warm spicy notes of cinnamon, cloves, dark chocolate and liquorice. Balsamic hints mingle with fine tobacco notes and a hint of vanilla from the wood maturation. The palate is a revelation: thick and full-bodied, dense and powerful, the Selvarossa unfolds with rich, ripe fruit and a structure that combines power and elegance. The tannins are strong, but never intrusive – supple, velvety and perfectly integrated. A lively freshness pervades the opulent body and prevents any heaviness. The final is long, spicy and poetic – a wine that hides the sweet, inviting heart of Salento under its hard shell. SUPERIORE.DE