Category: Negroamaro

Another recommendation from the Wine and More Enoteca in Lecce and a lovely. Really clean and perhaps fresher and less dried skinny leather than some Salento Negroamaro. Very ripe pomegranate juice concentrate, something between very ripe raspberry, cherry and plum and only medium weight. Fresh tingly acid wins over fine tannin and goodness doesn’t it make the mouth water for food. Delicioso. Not in anyway profound but the fruit just seems so well grown and even. The fact it’s organic got something to do with it?

14% alcohol but doesn’t seem it. Cork, humph. 13 euros.

93 punti.

A return to the great Cucina Mama Elvira in Lecce for a slap up dinner. The wine list is an amazing curation of intelligence and passion for the land of the Salento. All the work of Andrea, owner and maestro of the region’s food and wine. This was a pitch perfect example of richly fruited but acid cut Negroamaro. Lots of clean dark cherry pithy fruit, savoury dusty clay and that dry grape skin flavour and tannin so typical of the sun worn Salento. Sense of place distilled into a glass.

13% alcohol. Diam, yet again! 17 euros on the list.

92 punti.

A couple of days in Puglia and a few glasses of local red later it was starting to seem as if there’s a common theme of size, maximum extraction and alcohol ripeness, and that despite avoiding the richest Primitivi. Last night’s dinner choice was a welcome relief. Medium weighted, moderately extracted and mouthwatering cherry fruit mingled with fresh natural acidity, properly integrated with some gentle fine tannin. Hooray, instead of tiring after a glass, the bottle emptied easily and just got more delicious. Brilliant with local veggie, fishy pasta as it should be. Now to try and find more of this sensitive producer’s wine in the local shops. Avanti!

13.50% alcohol. Cork. 16 euros on the osteria’s list, perhaps under 10 retail I hope!

91 yum points.

Other goodies by the glass from the Pugliese stiletto –

2016 Erbaceo Colle della Murgia, Greco di Tufo e Minutolo. Refreshing fragrant flower and green herb scented. Green melon, citrus and great acid.

2017 Polvanera  Rosato, Aleatico, Primitivo e Aglianico. Deep colour for a pinky, toffee, cherry and an endearing chalky tang to bring you back to the glass. Enough to fling rosé prejudices aside!