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Primitivo di Salento IGT

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Medaglia d'Oro / Gold Medal
2008 Concours Mondial de Bruxelles
 
Medaglia d'Argento / Silver Medal 
2008 La Selezione del Sindaco Concorso Enologico International Ortona / Roma Campidoglio
 
Medaglia d'Oro / Gold Medal 
2008 Mostra Nazionale Vini Pramaggiore Concorso Nazionale dei Vini DOCG DOC IGT
 
Medaglia d'Argento / Silver Medal  
2008 International Challenge du Vin Fait a Bourg sur Gironde, France
 
Gold Medal
2009 Los Angeles International Wine and Spirits Competition
  • Country: Italy
  • Region: Apulia
  • District: Salento
  • Varietals: 100% Primitivo
  • Varietals: Single vineyard and vintage
  • Alcohol: 14.5%
  • Aging: Extended maceration of the grapes followed by minimum 9 to 14 months in French oak barriques and refined 6 months in bottle
  • Bottle: 750ml

Winemaker: Cantine Rizzello

Wine Notes:

A timeless classic... Solemnis, meaning "the only one" is the gem of Salento and recognized as one of natures best. From an innovative and revolutionary night harvesting method for these Primitivo grapes, was born the rare wine which holds the freshness and flowers, and fruit fragrances concentrated by the grape during the cool night. This is why you find a rising moon on the small label affixed to the front of the bottle and as part of the winery logo.

Like a work of art is the noble exaltation of man's genius, so the creation of Primitivo is the "Solemn" celebration of nature's Alchemy. Its ancient and strong structure, its modern and refined elegance, its unmistakable typicality and smoothness, make this Primitivo wine... a timeless classic!
 
It is believed through Archaeological evidence that points to the domestication of vitis vinifera somewhere in the Caucasus around 6000 BCE, and to the discovery of winemaking shortly after. From there it spread to the Mediterranean, and then along the coast to Greece, the Balkans and into Italy. It is now known that Croatia has many indigenous varieties that are quite closely related to Primitivo di Manduria, which formed the basis of a considerable wine industry in the 1800s.

Italians claim Primitivo as the descendant of the grape that made "merum", a wine brought to Puglia by Illyrian colonists before the Greeks arrived in the 7th century BC. Horace and other Roman writers mention "mera tarantina" from Taranto, and Pliny the Elder describes Manduria as viticulosa (full of vineyards). The first official mention of Primitivo is not until Italian governmental publications of the 1870s. The fact that such records come 40 years after Zinfandel is first documented in the USA led some to suggest that Primitivo was introduced from across the Atlantic; this became unlikely after the discovery of its origin across the Adriatic in Dalmatia. 

Winemaker Notes:

At sight this wine is a concentrated and deep ruby red color with great glass composition and intense purple colors with rose border lines, which turn orange with age. On the nose, the bouquet is persistent and delicious with an impact of summer forest soil, sweet wild red berries, blackberries, blueberries, and notes of toasted cocoa and coffee beans. A complex, full-body wine with very fine quality, on the palate the taste is pleasant, smooth, and velvety with excellent structure and balance, and a delicious, long tanning finish.

This wine can be enjoyed young and but becomes more refined for 5 to 6 years.

At its best when opened 45 minutes or longer prior to serving.

Pairing:

Pairs well with roasted or grilled meats, pasta, grilled or fried fish, shellfish, and spicy dishes.

Price: $19.98