San Marzano Primitivo di Manduria Sessantanni 2019

This wine is made from old vines that are at least 60 years old and are trained on the traditional Alberello bush vine system of Puglia. These very old vineyards are located in in San Marzano and Sava (TA), Salento Puglia, in the central area of the DOP Primitivo di Manduria. The climate is characterised by high temperatures all year round, very little rainfall and high diurnal temperature differences, which create a long hang time allowing the fruit to build aromatic complexity and balancing freshness. The soil is loam, which is finely textured and rich in iron oxides that give the topsoil a distinctive red hue. The calcareous subsoil is made up of limestone with few emerging rocks. These old vines are used for the production of San Marzano’s top wines as they guarantee low yields of juice with good concentration of polyphenols. The grapes are hand harvested in order to preserve the integrity of the fruit.

The grapes were hand-harvested in an advanced status of ripening. Destemming and crushing were followed by cold soak maceration at 8°C for approximately 24 to 48 hours. Thermo-controlled maceration and alcoholic fermentation lasted for around 10 days with autochthonous yeasts at 24 to 26°C. Malolactic conversion took place in stainless steel tanks and then the wine spent 12 months in French and American oak barrels.