How the Wines of Puglia Stack Up At the By Dick Rosano Tormaresca Winery. ask anyone who loves Italian wine and they’ll point to Tuscany, Piemonte Winery and maybe Umbria as the source of the best in the country. And while that Tormaresca summary recommendation might not be wrong, it leaves out much of the wine that surprises as much as it impresses. Tormaresca Winery’s Bocca di Lupo Estate Cellar in the Pygliese countryside of Minervino Murge. WWW.NIAF.ORG Ambassador 47 52404_NIAF_Fall_2018.indd 47 9/18/18 12:44 AM Consider the white wines of Vene- Does that about complete the list? Historically, the vineyards plant- zia-Giulia, the ripe and robust wines of Hardly. In fact, each of the 20 ed there, and so also the wines made Sicily, or the bubblies of Franciacorta. regions of Italy can lay claim to their there, had a Greek accent. The How about the ancient vines in Cam- own flagship wine. But the region that seafaring Hellenists brought their pania, so old that wines like Falerno, is blossoming into one to watch in the culture, art and government to the Aglianico and Fiano slaked the thirst future is Puglia. southern tip of the Italian penin- of the Roman legions. Or Sangiovese First, full disclosure: My mother sula, but they also brought their Chianti-like wines of Emilia-Romagna, grew up there, in a little hilltop town viticulture and their thirst for fine or the Rosso Piceno of the Marches called Toritto, west of Bari. But my wine. It was these same Greeks who region, the ancestral home of the Mon- bias still doesn’t detract from the bestowed on southern Italy its first davi family, both Robert and his brother progress in making stellar wines in the sobriquet, “Oenotria,” their phrase Peter who know something about wine. heel of the boot. meaning the “land of grapes.” Wine in the United States had a tough year in 1919. An ill wind was blowing across the country and when it reached Washington, D.C., the elected winery Li Veli representatives bowed to pressure from the Anti-Saloon League and other “dry crusaders.” The Cantele Winery Empson USA Inc./Matané winery Empson USA Inc./Matané winery counterclockwise from top left: Tormaresca winery’s Bocca di Lupo Estate vineyards; Li Veli vineyards in the Salento region; Cantele winemaker WWW.NIAF.ORG Gianni Cantele and Brand Manager Paolo Cantele; The Matané vineyards in Salento; and Valentino Sciotti of the Matané winery 48 Ambassador 52404_NIAF_Fall_2018.indd 48 9/18/18 12:44 AM Terroir, or roughly the combina- Despite the lack of steep slopes, Botromagno Winery tion of climate, weather and land- the wine industry in Apulia is grow- in Gravina scape, always plays an important part ing quickly and gaining credibility as in vineyard development and flavor. So a source of high quality, affordable much of the terrain of Italy rests in the wines. Although the expressive flavors foothills of the Apennines, a moun- and price points are of first interest, tainous spine that runs nearly the en- the flavors of these unique grapes will tire course of the country giving local also add to the pleasure. Grapes such vineyards the proper exposure for fine as Negroamaro, Malvasia Nera, Uva di wine. But Puglia is mostly flat land, the Troia and Primitivo among the reds, Group plains that stretch east from the Apen- and Verdeca, Bombino Bianco and nines to the Adriatic Sea. This is the Trebbiano among the whites, are not Winebow primary reason why so much of the common to most wine lovers, but they The south’s economy is farming, and why deserve more attention. Here’s a good RED WINES a visitor can drive for great distances place to start: in sight only of olive trees, grain fields, Botromagno 2015 Nero di Troia almond orchards and fig trees. ($20, Winebow) Deep, dark red with aromas of toasted oak and forest floor, smooth tannins, black cherries and ripe plums on palate. Score: 87 Tasting Notes Botromagno 2016 Primitivo ($19, Winebow) Gutsy and dark, even on the nose; WHITE WINES ROSATO (ROSÉ) WINES raspberries and black cherries, soft finish. Score: 86 Bortomagno 2017 Gravina Giancarlo Ceci 2016 ($19, Winebow) Parchitello Cantele 2016 Primitivo Bright, zesty and smooth, ($17, Vias Imports) ($17, Vias Imports) white pear and hints of ripe apple. Made from bombino nero, this is Soft, forward fruit, soft acidity, Score: 85 fresh and fruity, with a tart cherry very approachable. Score: 86 and strawberry nose and flavor Cantele 2017 Chardonnay profile. Deliciously forward and Cantele 2014 Salice Salentino ($17, Vias Imports) appealing. Great for backyard ($17, Vias Imports) True to the fruit, medium bodied barbecues and shellfish. Red fruit and cranberry on nose, and soft, forward fruit, no hint of Score: 86 tart dried cherries and plums, soft oak, supple on finish. tannins, moderate finish. Score: 86 Score: 86 Tormaresca 2017 Calafuria Rosato Giancarlo Ceci 2015 Almagia Giancarlo Ceci 2016 ($15, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates) ($26, Vias Imports) Panascio Bianco Salmon pink, brisk fruity notes, Scent of tar and toasted oak, toasty ($18, Vias Imports) smooth delivery, soft finish. oak on palate, crush berries with Light fruit aromas featuring peach Score: 87 pepper accents. Score: 85 with a hint of lemon, tart entry and long, luxurious finish. Giancarlo Ceci 2015 Almagia Score: 86 ($26, Vias Imports) Primitivo is certainly Puglia’s Scent of tar and toasted oak, toasty Leone de Castris 2016 Messapia oak on palate, crush berries with ($16, Winebow) most famous export, but it didn’t pepper accents. Score: 85 Subtle aromas of white peach and leave the country with that name. pear, light acidity, medium body. Giancarlo Ceci 2014 Parco Marano Score: 85 DNA research and anecdotal records ($29, Vias Imports) suggest that this is the parent grape of Gutsy and robust on nose and Masseria Li Veli 2017 Verdeca palate, dense, great mouthfeel, ($20, Jarvis Communications) America’s famous Zinfandel. The story a superbly balanced and concen- Brilliant fruit aromas and flavors, trated wine. Score: 89 core of lemon-lime with a goes that the Primitivo left Italy by suggestion of herbaceousness way of Hungary where it was known as Gianfranco Fino 2016 on finish. the Crljenak Kaštelanski and through Jo Salento Negramaro Score: 88 ($100, Winebow) Austria where it was tagged the Zier- Dark, rich, compelling, a fabulously fandler. Agoston Haraszthy, a Hungar- aromatic wine, firm tannins, deeply sensuous flavors of dark fruit and WWW.NIAF.ORG ian adventurer, brought this vine to slight spice. Score: 92 California where it flourished and was rechristened Zinfandel. Ambassador 49 52404_NIAF_Fall_2018.indd 49 9/18/18 12:44 AM Gianfranco Fino 2016 Matane 2016 Primitivo DESSERT Es Salento Primitivo ($14, Empson) ($100, Winebow) Raspberries and black cherries on Botromagno 2008 Deep, dark red with a purple rim, ex- nose and palate, playful and straight- Gravisano Passito di Malvasia WINES citing and aromatic on the nose, rich forward, a subtle earthiness on the ($40, Winebow) textures, complex flavors of dark fruit, back palate. Score: 85 Copper colored and scented with RED chocolate, anise, and tobacco leaf. figs and caramel, honey, dried figs Score: 92 Matane 2015 Primitivo di Manduria on palate, fine acidity that helps ($26, Empson) enliven the fruit. Score: 88 Leone de Castris 2016 Rich, smooth, velvety, rich ripe Maiana Salice Salentino dark fruit. Score: 86 Giancarlo Ceci 2015 Negroamaro Rosso Dolce Rosalia ($17, Winebow) Tormaresca 2013 Bocca di Lupo ($40, Vias Imports) Deep and aromatic, with dark fruit ($70, Aglianico, Ste. Michelle Luscious textures, peach and and soft wood scents, nicely bal- Wine Estates) honey on nose and palate, a long anced, showing black cherry and Smoke, leather, and dark fruit aro- lingering finish. Score: 87 raspberry fruit and a hint of toast. mas, black cherry and raspberry on Score: 86 palate, notes of herb and toast on finish. Score: 90 Dick Rosano’s columns have appeared for Masseria Li Veli 2015 Primitivo ($20, Jarvis Communications) Tormaresca 2015 Neprica many years in The Washington Post and Deep, dark, brooding aromas of toasty ($12, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates) other national publications. His novels set oak and black fruit, soft yet evident Bright red hues, toast and cranberry in Italy capture the beauty of the country, tannins, nice structure. Score: 89 on approach, with a hint of tobacco, the flavors of the cuisine, and the history smooth and long. Score: 86 Masseria Li Veli 2016 and traditions of the people. Rosano has Passamante Salice Salentino Tormaresca 2015 traveled the world but Italy is his ancestral ($13, Jarvis Communications) Torcicoda Primitivo home and the insights he lends to his books Coffee, leather, and toast on nose, ($20, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates) bring the characters to life, the cities and crisp red fruit punctuated with hint Smoky, toasty oak, supple textures, countryside into focus, and the culture into of tobacco leaf and tar. Score: 85 rich aromas and flavors. Score: 89 high relief—whether it’s “A Death in Tus- cany,” “A Love Lost in Positano,” “Hunt- ing Truffles,” or “The Secret of Altamura.” WWW.NIAF.ORG 50 Ambassador 52404_NIAF_Fall_2018.indd 50 9/18/18 1:48 AM.