2023 Vigneti Del Salento Zolla Primitivo Di Manduria Puglia

Vigneti del Salento, is part of the Fantini group, founded by Valentino Sciotti in 1994 to produce top-quality wine from Abruzzo and (later) southern Italy as a whole.

These Puglian 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 to the region by the rich, ripe flavours of the grapes that grow there. Filippo consistently aims to capture these flavours with minimal use of technology but a lot of know-how.

The resulting wines are expressive of their site yet also carry the style of Fantini’s other exceptional wines. The whites are crisp and fresh, while the reds are soft and generous. The flagship wine is the ‘Vigne Vecchie’ Primitivo di Manduria, sourced from old bush vines aged in new French oak for 12 months. It boasts intense aromas of cherries, blackberries and spice coupled with velvety tannins and a lingering finish.puglia

The grapes for `Zolla` are sourced from vineyards situated at altitudes of 70 to 100 metres above sea level, between the communes of Manduria and Sava. The ‘alberello’ bush vines are over 30 years old and low yielding, thus produce berries that display intense aromas and flavours. Soils are red calcareous clay, rich in iron, minerals and nutrients. The region’s proximity to the Ionian Sea, coupled with the warm Mediterranean climate, is hugely beneficial to the production of Primitivo and gives the wines its unique aromatic character.

The grapes were gently pressed and cooled to 10ºC for a maceration period of 8-10 days, with regular pumping over. Yeasts were added to start alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in stainless-steel tanks, which took place at controlled temperatures. The wine was then transferred to second and third use oak barriques for six to eight months before bottling.

This wine is ruby red in colour with a violet hue. It has intense aromas of red cherries, blackberries and hints of spice and leather. These aromas follow through on to the palate, which is rich and velvety with generous tannins and great length.