Vecchio Marone – Edizione Privata
| Winery: | Vecchio Marone |
| Category: | Italian Red Wine |
| Type: | Primitivo |
| Region: | Puglia |
| Grapes: | Primitivo 100% |
| Vinification: | The must macerates for 6-8 days. Fermentation is carried out at 22-24° C. Aged in barrels for approximately 6 months. |
| Color: | Dark red with violet hints. |
| Bouquet: | Reveals aromas of cherry, blueberry and chocolate. |
| Palate: | The mouthfeel is juicy and silky with notes of oak. It’s balanced, complex, with a great length, and a fruity finish. |
| Pairing: | Ideal with meats, game and some cheeses. |
| Serving Temp: | 64°F |
About the Puglia Region:
Location: Southern Italy, Southeast
Notable Reds: Primitivo, Negroamaro, Malvasia Nera, and Uva di Trola
Notable Whites: Chardonnay
Puglia is one of Italy’s warmest, most southerly regions. Its entire eastern side is one long coastline bordering the Adriatic Sea.
Puglia’s Mediterranean climate and iron-rich, calcareous soils support the indigenous Primitivo, Negroamaro and Nero di Troia. Primitivo produces an inky, spicy, brambly and ripe red wine whose best expression comes from Manduria. Nero di Troia produces tannic, rustic reds from Castel del Monte DOC while Negroamaro, typically blended with Malvasia nera, plays a large part in may blends made throughout the peninsula.
Puglia produces a small amount of white wines as well, predominantly made of the fruity, Trebbiano Toscano, or light, Bombino bianco grapes.
Loved for its inky, brambly, fruit-driven wines, the Primitivo grape actually has Croatian origin. Primitivo came to Italy in the late 1800s and became an important variety in the hot, dry, southern region of Puglia. Its name comes from the Latin word, primativus, meaning “first to ripen.”
Although thought to be similar, DNA profiling in 1994 revealed that Primitivo and Zinfandel were actually the same grape. In Croatia, the grape goes by the name of Tribidrag and is a parent to Plavac Mali.