Masseria Altemura farms in the Salento, the heel of Puglia, where Primitivo has grown for centuries and where the grape finally has a DOC of its own: Primitivo di Manduria. Sasseo comes from that southern flatland, a dry, sun-heavy corner of Italy that ripens Primitivo to full weight without losing its bite.
- Primitivo, Puglia's dark, thick-skinned red grape.
- Salento, the southern heel of the region.
- 2020, a warm vintage across southern Italy.
- 14.5% alcohol, full body, medium tannin.
- Dry, with medium acidity holding it up.
How it is made
Primitivo is the same grape known in California as Zinfandel, and in Puglia it is picked late, when the sugars are high and the skins are thick. The result is a wine that ferments to a serious alcohol level while keeping enough acid to stay drinkable. Sasseo is the estate's fuller expression of the variety.
How it tastes
Blackberry and plum lead, with dried figs and a warm baking spice note underneath. The tannins are smooth rather than grippy, and the finish is long and lush. It is a big wine, but the fruit stays in front of the alcohol.
Where it comes from
The Salento is a peninsula of low hills and limestone, hot and dry through summer, with the sea close on both sides. Primitivo di Manduria earned its DOC in 1974, one of the first in Puglia to be recognised for a single grape rather than a blend.
Good to know
Primitivo and Zinfandel were long assumed to be unrelated. DNA work in the 1990s proved they are the same variety, carried across the Atlantic by Italian immigrants and renamed along the way.
Contains alcohol.
