This ancient grape variety is packed with delicious plum and spice.
This Negroamaro is ruby red in colour with purple hues. The aromas are intense with notes of blackberries and blackcurrants. It is medium-bodied and velvety, with good balance and savoury notes on the finish.
This is one of the Farnese group's ventures in Puglia. The wines are made at two wineries in the province of Taranto, on the western flank of Salento, by resident winemaker Danilo Gizzi and consultant winemaker Filippo Baccalaro. Filippo, a native of Piemonte, has been working in Puglia for almost two decades. He was originally attracted by the rich, ripe flavours of the fruit from this region and the possibility of capturing these flavours with minimal use of technology, but a lot of know-how.
The vineyards are mostly situated in the communes of Manduria and Sava and are owned by growers with whom Filippo has been working for many years. Production is lower than its potential, which ensures the best quality grapes are selected. The red soils are calcareous clay and rich in iron, minerals and nutrients. 80% of the grapes come from old bush vines and the rest from trained vines that are at least 20 years old.
The grapes were gently pressed and cooled to 10ēC for a maceration period of 8-10 days with regular pumping over. Yeasts were added to start fermentation, which took place in stainless-steel tanks under temperature-controlled conditions of up to 20ēC. The wine was then aged in used American and French oak for 4-5 months before bottling.
Negroamaro can be enjoyed with simple pasta dishes or pizza but it is worthwhile trying to find something typical of Puglia or Southern Italy such as Antipasto, slow baked lamb and potatoes or Pepperonata.
