Primitivo di Manduria, 2007

Thanks Paulo, it was delicious! We have a friend who lives in southern Italy, in Bari. He visits Hungary regularly and, knowing how much we love wine, he often surprises us with wonderful wines from local wineries. He has excellent taste and his selection did not disappoint this time either. I’ll surely remember this wine for years to come. What a wonderful experience! We didn’t open this bottle right away, waiting for just the right occasion to open it, but of course, we didn’t (couldn’t) wait long. …

As I poured the wine into the glass, it was already obvious that this wasn’t just any kind of wine. Beatiful dark color and beautiful thick rings clinged to the side of the glass. Ripe fruit aromas, concentrated and full of character. It was obvious that this wine was not from around here and would be a brand new, exciting experience for both of us. Its taste won us over with its cognac and cherries, peanut, milk chocolate, and ripe berry flavors. Very soft, caressing in the mouth. It has a high alcohol of 15,5%, and interestingly enough, still has some residiual sugar left in there as well; I would say about 2-4 grams. Great balance, wonderful harmony, full of goodness with its aromas bowing in subservience to the dominating taste. It has a medium-long finish reminding me of ripe figs. Interesting, you don’t feel the high alcohol, though by the time we finished the bottle, we could definately feel it in our heads. So what is this Primitivo? It is a Mandurian specialty similar t the Californian Zinfandel. Its roots, however, originate from Croatia. Approximately 75% of the region uses this wine not as a varietal, but as a blend to improve the weaker French and Italian grape varieties. And they say that wine concentrates don’t exist!

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