Vigneti Del Salento Primitivo di Manduria Leggenda

Vigneti Del Salento Primitivo di Manduria Leggenda has a rich bouquet of cherries and blackberries soaked in minty, slightly spicy tobacco. Spicy and mellow to the palate with notes of cocoa and coffee. Long and lingering after taste.

• Brand: Fantini
• Description: Dry Red
• Vintages Available: 2019
• Country, Region: Italy, Puglia
• Appellation: DOC
• Ratings: Wine Enthusiast: 89/100 (2016 Vintage)

About the Producer

The Fantini Group has its head office in Castello Caldora, near Ortona, a coastal town in the Province of Chieti, Abruzzo.

Established in 1994, it soon became the leading wine producer in Abruzzo and Southern Italy, both in terms of volumes (24 million bottles) and quality. From the start the company attracted the attention of the industry’s main experts due to its modern entrepreneurial approach, strict quality standards and quick commercial penetration. 18 talented winemakers, all with international experience, produce high quality wines from six different regions in Central and Southern Italy: Abruzzo, Tuscany, Campania, Basilicata, Puglia and Sicily. The company has achieved worldwide recognition, as testified by the many acknowledgements received from wine critics, wine guides and in major international wine contests.

Farnese was named “Best Italian Producer” in 2016, 2017 and 2019 by a prominent Italian wine guide, Luca Maroni’s “Annuario dei Migliori Vini Italiani”. It was also declared “2017 Producer of the Year” by the important German wine competition “Mundus Vini” and by Belgian journalist Alain Bloeykens. Furthermore, its red wine “Edizione Cinque Autoctoni” – the company’s flagship – has been “Wine of the Year” for 9 years running. In recent years, over 70 gold medals and international trophies have enriched the company awards list, including its inclusion in the “Wine Spectator Top100”. Recently the company – thanks also to the participation of a large international equity fund – has completed the acquisition of a new cellar in Sardinia (“Atzei”) and in Spain (“Finca Fella”).

Grapes

100% Primitivo

Vineyard

The production area is situated in the Salento peninsula of Puglia. The DOC Primitivo di Manduria wine represents the highest expression of this grape from Puglia. The grapes are carefully selected from the low-yielding bush vines “alberelli”. These vines are over 100 years old and grow in a red soil rich in iron oxides upon a layer of calcareous rock. The combination of these elements produces a wine of great richness and complexity.

Vinification

The slightly overripe grapes are de-stemmed and crushed before the maceration/fermentation takes place at controlled temperature, for 10-12 days and with regular pumping overs.

Ageing

After separation from the lees, the malolactic fermentation takes place in stainless-steel tanks. Ageing follows in American and French oak barriques for the next 12 months.

Tasting Notes

Vigneti Del Salento Primitivo di Manduria Leggenda is ruby red with purple at the edge. The bouquet is intense with hints of cherries and blackberries soaked in minty, slightly spicy tobacco. Its spicy taste makes this wine appear sweet to the palate, finishing with notes of cocoa and coffee. Long and lingering on the after taste, this wine will continue to evolve for the next 10 years.

Analysis

15% alcohol vol.

Food Suggestions

Vigneti Del Salento Primitivo di Manduria Leggenda is excellent when paired with all meat dishes, first courses, game and mature cheeses, especially if made from sheep or goats’ milk.

Serving temperature: 18°C.

Cellar

Ready to drink now, it will keep well for another 10 years if suitably cellared. Vigneti Del Salento Primitivo di Manduria Leggenda will reward the patient.