A Grand Tour of the Wines of the Salento Peninsula

Mattie John Bamman (August 6, 2009)

Photos by Mattie John Bamman

The Italian festival Il Mercatino del Gusto celebrated its 10th year this August. Organized by the Slow Food organization, the annual 4-day festival transforms the usually quiet town of Maglie, in the Puglia region of Southern Italy. The city’s streets lose their names and simply become La Via Della Gastronomia (The Street of Gastronomy), La Via Dell’Olio Extravergine Di Oliva (The Street of Extra Virgin Olive Oil), and La Via Della Pesce (The Street of Seafood), and thousands come to indulge in the traditional cuisine. Located in the center of everything is Piazza Della Vino, where this year, 28 of the Salento peninsula’s best wineries proffered their wines.

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With thousands of bottles being opened, it was a good time to go in search of that elusive high-quality white wine in a region known almost completely for its reds.

The first night I sampled over 60 whites, many exhibiting Puglia’s native white grapes, Verdeca, Malvasia Bianca, Bombino, and Fiano di Pugliese Minutolo, but the most popular white grape by far was the international grape Chardonnay. My favorite white wine of the event was in fact the 2008 Galatina Bianco DOC (100% Chardonnay) by Valle dell’Asso Winery. I appreciate wines that exhibit typicity, or the character of the grape used to make them, as well as connectedness, the character of the region in which the grape is grown. Valle dell’Asso does not have a wood barrel on its property, preferring to age its wines in stainless steel, and the organic Chardonnay’s lush perfume and gentle flavor of baked pear made it clearly stand out.

The whites made from Puglia’s native grapes were also impressive, though not across the board. The Malvasia Bianca grape in particular proved itself capable of creating wonderfully rich, full-bodied whites. Many 100% Malvasia Bianca wines were fruity on the nose, similar to Chardonnay in body and richness, and very soft. The other grape that greatly impressed me was Fiano di Pugliese Minitolo. Not to be confused with Fiano di Avellino from Italy’s Campania region, this Fiano is a bit more like Trauminer, only with a medium body and, when done well, a light lemoniness. Good whites made with Malvasia Bianca were Tenuta Rubino Winery's 2007 "Giancòla" (100% Malvasia Bianca) and Leone de Castris Winery's new experiment, the 2008 "Donna Lisa" (100% Malvasia Bianca). The best representation of Fiano di Pugliese Minutolo was Cantele Winery's 2007 "Alticelli" (100% Fiano).

The festival’s second night proved yet again that the region is one of the world’s leaders in rosè, known as rosato in Italian. Rosès from the Salento peninsula are not the sticky-sweet rosès of California, and finding an over-extracted, too-strawberry-sweet rosè was nearly impossible—though there were 1 or 2. I tasted every rosè at the event, and I liked 80% of what I tasted. Leone de Castris, the winery that invented Italian rosè, offered a powerful example: the 2008 "Five Roses 65th Anniversary" (80% Negroamaro, 20% Malvasia Nera di Brindisi). Most rosès made in Salento are made from Negroamaro, a grape with incredible character and structure. Winemakers leave the grapes' juice in contact with the skins (during the process of maceration) for only 2 to 8 hours. The result is beautifully pink-tinted rosès with tremendous structure and bright, complex aromas that are perfect for pairing with spicy BBQ chicken or other complex summer dishes.

Most of the winemakers I spoke with said that their rosès can age up to 2 years and still be at their peak. My favorite rosès were Tenuta Rubino's 2008 "Saturnino" (100% Negroamaro), L’Astore Masseria's 2008 “Massaro” (100% Negroamaro), Castel di Salve's 2008 "Santimedici Rosato" (100% Negroamaro), and Menhir Winery's 2008 "9 Menti Rosato" (100% Negroamaro), which displays impressive spice. Mocavero Winery's 2008 "Rosato di Salento" (Negroamaro, Malvasia Nera, Montepulciano) utilizes a long, 12-hour maceration to draw out impressive tannins that make it ideal for pairing with saucy fish dishes such as paella.

The last night of the event, with wineries such as Mocavero offering 9 reds, demanded that I taste over 100 wines. I was happy to taste few overtly sweet reds, a problem that Puglia winemakers are struggling with, and to discover that the old saying is still true: In Puglia, the better the wine, the less it costs. Many of the more expensive wines are more expensive because of the use of new barrique, or small oak barrels (small by Italian perspective, whose wood barrels sometimes stand 10 feet on their sides), and have the unfortunate character of a vanilla cola. Puglia’s reds aged in stainless steel usually cost less money, and they allow the already powerful character of the native grapes Negroamaro, Aglianico, Primitivo, and Malvasia Nera to truly shine.

I found a lot of balanced reds, particularly those that blended Montepulciano with Negroamaro. The soft tannins of Montepulciano and the strong tannins of Negroamaro combined to create an indulgently delicate and long-lasting finish in Castel di Salve’s 2006 “Priante” (50% Montepulciano, 50% Negroamaro). Tenuto Rubino’s 2007 “Marmorelle” (85% Negroamaro, 15% Malvasia Nera) stood out with an intense, wonderful spice. The varietals of Negroamaro were predictably impressive, particularly Valle Dell’Asso’s 2003 “Piromáfo” (100% Negroamaro). Aged in large wood barrels for 6 months, the “Piromáfo” is full of character, from the barnyard nose to a fresh peach flavor to the chewy mouthfeel. Mocavero’s 2006 "Negroamaro Salento" IGT (100% Negroamaro), aged entirely in stainless steel, was also noteworthy.

My favorite red wine at the event was made from the Primitivo grape, which is identical to Zinfandel on a molecular level (both have the common ancestor Crljenak Kaštelanski, from Croatia). Mocavero’s 2003 "Santufili Primitivo Riserva" (100% Primitivo) had all of the elements of greatness: full-bodied, soft in the mouth yet full of smoke and leather, juicy yet tasting of dried cherry, with a finish that goes for minutes.

The list of fine reds offered at Il Mercatino del Gusto is ludicrously long, with wineries such as Candido, Taurino, Cantele, and Apollonio all in attendance. Apollonio Winery’s wines in particular have greatly impressed me, as they did the judges at this year’s Vinitaly, who awarded Apollonio’s 2001 “Divoto” the Grand Gold Medal in the highly sought category of “Still Wines with Denomination of Origin” of 6 years or older. Next week, Sipping from the Heel will feature an interview with Apollonio’s winemaker, Massimiliano Apollonio, one of the top 5 winemakers south of Rome.

Most of the wines mentioned here can be found in the United States and cost between $10-30. Salute!

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