Negroamaro is the grape that made Salento, the heel of Puglia, and it has been grown there for centuries. San Marzano works across the region, and this is a straight varietal bottling from the 2021 vintage, full-bodied and dry.
- Negroamaro, the defining red grape of Salento.
- Salento IGP, Puglia, southern Italy.
- 2021 vintage, 13.5% abv.
- Medium tannin, medium acidity, full body.
- Dry, 750ml.
How it is made
Negroamaro means "bitter black" in the local dialect, a name given for the dark colour of the skins and the faint bitterness that runs under the fruit. Salento IGP is a broad appellation covering the flat, sun-scorched peninsula between the Ionian and Adriatic seas, and it allows a range of red grapes, but Negroamaro is the one the zone is known for. The grape ripens late and thick-skinned in the heat, which is where the colour and the grip come from.
How it tastes
Black plum and dried cherry lead, with tobacco and leather sitting further back. The tannins are firm and the acidity holds the middle, so the fruit stays savoury rather than sweet. Full-bodied and dry through to the finish.
Where it comes from
Puglia is the long, thin region running down Italy's eastern coast, and Salento is its southern tip, the part that looks toward Greece. Negroamaro is grown almost nowhere else in the world. The old bush vines of the peninsula are among the oldest in Italy, many of them ungrafted and still standing.
Good to know
Negroamaro has long been a blending grape, used to add colour and structure to wines from further north. Bottled on its own, as here, it shows a darker, earthier side than most southern Italian reds.
