Plentia di Primitivo di Puglia!

If I cut myself would I bleed Primitivo? A question I asked myself a few times during my February Bari mini-break. A new found love of this wine has now emerged. However there is an interesting element of controversy surrounding this grape. It has exactly the same DNA profile as Zinfandel, the Italians insist that the grape originated in Italy but more recent evidence has emerged that both grapes are actually a clone from a Croatian grape called... Crljenak Kastelanski! Might just go with the Italians on this one for pronunciation's sake.

Lovely Bari, lovely weather!

On our first night we really landed on our feet by going for dinner at a small lounge-restaurant called Blanc de Noirs, a homage to the wonderfully friendly owner Franceso's love of Champagne and time spent studying wine in France. He was extremely keen to showcase the great local Puglian wines. Each was 15 euros a bottle or 3 euros for a (very generous) glass. I had done a bit of research and was very keen to try Nero Di Troia, Negroamaro and of course Primitivo, and while we were south I was keen to try my first Aglianico del Vulture as I had heard such great things about it. That evening I got the chance to taste the first three. Two of the wines were slightly reductive, but after a bit of time and swirling their true flavours came through. The first wine was the Nero di Troia, Poderi D'Agostino, I think it was a 2011. This was a lovely rich wine with beautifully smooth tannins and well balanced acidity. It had flavours of black cherry and pepper and was delightful with the bruschetta! We then moved on to the 2011 Negroamaro by Cantine Due Palme. This was a less complex and smooth wine which smelt of glacier cherries! It was very pleasant but lacked the sophistication of the first wine. We ended on the highly anticipated Primitivo, 2010 Muro Sant'Angelo Gioia del Colle. This had an alcohol content of 16%!! But you couldn't tell. It was earthy and complex, incredibly well balanced, with lovely notes of liquorice and forest fruits, was very moreish! Unfortunately I can't find any retailers of these wines outside of Italy.

The following evening's dinner was therefore very much required to be accompanied by more Primitivo! I had vowed to leave the 16 percenters behind me but a little gem came highly recommended - what can you do! So we had the Cubadi Salento Primitivo 2011. My goodness, this was molte bueno! It was rich and creamy, dark chocolate cherry liquors raised their heads along with sweet spice and mild anise, it just got better with every mouthful! This is the only wine I have written about that you can buy in the UK, but if I had to choose just one, this would be it.

The next day we went to the famous Trullo town of Alberobello. This was a different kind of sensory experience.

Here I am, check out the houses!

But, hang on, what is that by the train station?!

The Albea Wine Museum! It's like they knew I was coming! We arranged for a little private tour and tasting after the hobbit houses. The Albea Museum is attached to the Albea winery which is a rather small but quality winery. The incredibly welcoming and knowledgeable (with fab English) Tomas showed us around and brought out some good wines for us to try after showing us the winery, below.

Tomas was brutally honest, admitting that the Italians preferred to use American oak barrels because they don't like the French! But they did have some French oak, so they can't hate them that much. Their premium wine is Cantina Albea Lui, we had the 2008 which they don't have any more of. Surprisingly after having so many great experiences with Primitivo it was an interesting choice that this wine was produced with the Nero di Troia grape. This is their premium wine due to the time spent in their small oak barrels which could be either American or French depending on the grape quality at harvest. I was impressed with their Primitivo Rose, the Petrarosa Special Cuvee 2013. This had lovely aromas of roses and red berries. Delicious strawberry on the palate and a wine I believe could live up to many different meals and occasions.

That evening, guess what we drank?! Actually I got my chance to sample the Aglianico del Vulture, it was a 2009 Amorosso. I have to say I was a tad disappointed. The tannins were a bit too grippy but it did have a lot of earth and farmyard aromas which indicated to me that maybe this bottle was opened a little too early as it was bought at a fabulous traditional Puglian restaurant Terranima.

The final day was spent doing my second favourite thing after drinking wine, shopping!

Unfortunately I had to wait until I got to the airport before I could buy the best cheese in the world - burrata! Happily, as that has now been consumed I have discovered that you can buy it in Waitrose!


Gadget Time!

The incredibly talented Stuart Gardiner has a range of wine products. These are my favourites:


The wine and food pairing tea towels! I know these are not strictly gadgets, but they are amazing. Soon they will be available to buy from the Chateau Canard shop which will be going live in the next few weeks!