Last June I was lucky enough to be invited to Puglia to sit on an international judging panel for Radici del Sud, a competition which focuses on native grape varieties grown in Southern Italy. Over five days we looked at some pretty amazing wines and if you click here you can read about my time in Puglia.
One of my fellow judges and wine writer for Decanter, Tom Maresca has just written about his experience in Puglia at Radici del Sud 2012 in the latest February edition of Decanter. In a special lift out focused solely on Italy, Maresca has given detailed insight into the grape varieties grown in Puglia and his favourite producers. If you buy and read wine magazines, the February edition is well worth getting.
Puglia: great red hopes by Tom Maresca
Tom also outlines his ‘Great red buys from Puglia’ and featured strongly in this, was my favourite producer from the competition called Fatalone. The estate now run by Pasquale Petrera make absolutely amazing reds from Primativo and also a stunning white made from Greco. These wines will be available via Mondo Imports around March and I can’t wait to show these in Australia.
The wines of Fatalone are pure expressions of Primitivo and showcase the quality that this grape variety can achieve in Puglia. From first sip, I knew these wines were a class above. Pasquale also makes a fantastic wine wine from Greco called Spinomarino and it was for me the surprise packet of the competition.
Tasting Fatalone at Radici del Sud 2012
Tom’s review of Fatalone:
Primativo Riserva, Gioia del Colle 2005: Still tastes young and fresh. Producer predicts 20 more years of life; very fine. Drink 2013-2025 (93 points)
Primativo, Gioia del Colle 2008: Great fruit, long bitter almond finish. A lovely wine. 15% but you wouldn’t guess it. Drink 2013-2018 (90 points)
In June this year, I had the opportunity to head over to Puglia and judge in a competition that looked at the best examples of native varieties grown in the South of Italy. Whilst the overall quality of wines were very high, there was one producer that bowled me over with the quality of wines across the board.
The wines of Fatalone in Gioia del Collein Puglia were for me the best examples of Primitivo that I tried throughout the competition. Every opportunity I had to go back and try the wines confirmed that these wines show the high notes top quality Primativo can hit: balanced, fragrant, intense with lovely palate weight and without the fruit sweetness which can hinder so many examples of Primativo from this region.
The wines of Fatalone at Radici del Sud 2012
We believe the success of a wine has to start from the roots of the vine by choosing all the best for the fruit of our labour, at any sacrifice, to create a very limited production of the highest quality.
Every step is carried out with the care and the wisdom which only the human touch can express. We want our wine to proudly mirror the territory, the soil and the men who are its authors.
In the deepest respect for Nature, we have made our production cycle 100% sustainable by practising organic farming, without using irrigation and processing just our own grapes located all around our cellar. Taking advantage of a renewable energy source, we power all our production process with solar energy. Thereby, we can proudly guarantee we produce a Zero CO2 emission wine made just with our locally grown organic grapes.
Our business philosophy is no different. We meticulously manage every aspect of production from the vine, to the bottle, to the final stages of marketing by carefully selecting customers who understand, respect and share our thinking. Fatalone
Fantastic Greco from Fatalone.
The origins of this noble Aminean grape date back to ancient time. It reached our peninsula with the help of the Amineans from Greece, immediately after the Trojan War (XIII B.C.). Their first settlement was in Apulia, where they began growing the Greco grape. It is a medium vigour vine with a good yield and has medium-sized and pentagon-shaped leaves. It has a medium-small bunch cone-frustum-shaped and one of its two heads is more developed. It’s full of little spheroid yellowish berries. Its must is very floral and sweet-smelling.
Not only does Fatalone make killer Primitivo but they also produce minuscule quantities of Greco. This wine blew me away at Radici for it’s perfume and seductiveness. It is a wine perfectly suites to the Australian climate.
The wines of Fatalone will be available in Australia in the first few months of 2013.
“The winning labels represent the wines that best interpret the characteristics of the native grapes they are produced from and those the judging experts found more interesting.”
International Jury of Radici del Sud 2012
After a fantastic week spent at Borgo Egnazia in Puglia for Radici del Sud 2012. The winning wines from the competition have been announced. Unlike most competitions Radici has a national jury made up of ‘wine lovers’ and an international jury made up us so called ‘experts’.
Whilst the national jury is labelled as ‘wine lovers’ in reality it is made up of the best sommeliers, restaurant owners and journalists that are based in Italy. It should really be called the ‘domestic experts’. The international jury was made up of wine writers/bloggers and importers from different international markets.
Below are the names of those judging on both panels.
Gruppo assaggiatori Internazionali:
Tom Maresca: wine writer e autore di famosi libri collaboratore di Decanter USA
Can you think of any better way to finish than a glass if Taurasi Riserva and a fresh wood fired pizza, made by a southern Italian trained in Napoli? Pretty hard to beat I reckon…
Today I head off to Roma before catching a late flight back home tomorrow night. It has been a fantastic experience in Puglia for Radici del Sud 2012.
Wine 158: Stuffed full of flavour to the tune of 120% 🙂
Yesterday afternoon was an interesting session at Radici del Sud 2012, it included for me the best wine I have tasted during the whole competition, but also a number of wines which underwhelmed. Aglianico is one of my favourite wine styles. When it is right, it makes some of the best wines on the planet.
When it is smothered in oak, it becomes dull and boring, like so many new world wines that taste of coffee and vanilla. During the class of Aglianico’s yesterday, those producers that did get it right produced wonderful wines, that stood out like beacons compared to many of the other wines.
It was interesting that for me, it was Aglianico del Vulture from Basilicata which were able to producer better, more variety correct wines than Campania. It seems there is an international influence on Campania which is hopefully a fad as it is robbing many wines of their indigenous style.
Judging Aglianico from Campania
In today’s final morning session we look at Taurasi so hopefully Aglianico from Campania can get back on track with this bracket.
With all the judging sessions of Radici nearly finished, it has given many of the judges a fantastic insight of the wines of the south. The best examples are as good as any of the best wines made in the world today. However, as with any region that is just starting to make a name for itself, many producers are unsure what style they should be aiming for and in future it will be interesting if each region can as a whole, make wine that highlights the advantages of using native varieties.
For me, it has not only been fantastic in trying so many diverse wines from the south, but also meeting so many people who are passionate about the wines of Italy and especially the wines of Campania, Basilicata, Puglia, Calabria and Sicily. With this much enthusiasm and knowledge, it is good to know that the south is in good hands.
Well you might think that after close to seven hours of trying wines of the south of Italy that you might reach a stage where your palate and brain has had enough, but it has been so amazing how diverse and fantastic the wines from Campania, Sicily, Basilicata, Puglia and Calabria.
There are many great producers here with the best wines showing both elegance and power, and beautiful balance. Today it was two Calabrese producers that really shone through.
The wines of Du Cropio from Calabria.
Two Ciro producers, Du Cropio and Ippolito 1845 are making some fantastic wines from Galliopo in Calabria. They are have fantastic power of fruit and tannins, but are in perfect balance and I can see both wines ageing gracefully for many years to come.
The reputation of Southern Italian wines are positively growing and it was producers like Du Cropio and Ippolito 1845 that are now showing just how good the varieties they grow can be and this benefits not only Calabria but the whole of the south.
Yesterday afternoon we spent meeting some more producers who are competing in Radici del Sud. In the afternoon bracket it was the reds which really shone. This 2008 Taurasi from Feudi di San Gregorio was close to the best wine of the afternoon. Balanced with poise, with equal amounts of fruit and tannin. It is a wine that will live for a long time.
After our afternoon tasting session finished we headed out to a local winery called I Pastini in Locorotondo who makes fantastic whites from native varieties. His estate was typical Southern Italian with centuries old buildings standing in the middle of each paddock.
Trulli built in the 17th century.
On the property are many Trulli houses dating back to the 17th and 18th century. All original and all in fantastic condition. In Australia, these houses would be priceless.
After our winery visit we headed a short distance for dinner at Masseria Aprile, an impressive property with it’s own church and beautiful buildings.
We had the local chapter of the Slow Food cook for us and the food, which never seemed to stop coming, was truly amazing. There was close to twenty dishes with the highlight for me being the meat cooked over coals.
Meeting the competing producers of Radici del Sud 2012
It has been a fantastic first morning at Radici del Sud 2012. For the first two days we will be meeting some of the producers who have submitted their wines for the competition which will be judged over three days on Saturday, Sunday and Morning.
There was some absolute standout wines with many of the whites impressing me with their clarity, complexity and precision. For those who have not tried the white wines of Southern Italy for many years, I urge you to go back and try the wines now. Truly amazing and almost all at a very high standard.
The reds were more hit and miss, but the best examples were truly amazing. A few producers are still blending international varieties but overall most producers understand that native grapes are the key to their and the regions success.
Some amazing whites…
The white wines of I Favati were a personal favourite and whilst the estate is quite small, all the wines they produce are of a very high quality. There were a number of other producers that were also able to maintain high standards across all their wines.
After the first session ended, we were treated an amazing lunch in the grounds of Borgo Egnazia. The only problem is that from breakfast we are treated with absolutely amazing food that if I keep going at the rate I am going, I will need to stop into Zara in Roma to buy the next two sizes up in coloured jeans…..
Centuries old olive trees greet you at the entrance of Borgo Egnazia, Puglia
I have felt like I have spent the last two days in transit. Well it is actually not far from the truth: so it was good to make it to Fasano in Puglia yesterday afternoon where I will spend the next week taking part in Radici del Sud.
The surrounding grounds are like an Oasis. Pools, lush gardens and more pools..
Yesterday afternoon I spent a couple of hours visiting the nearby towns. The highlight was probably Alberobello which is picture and postcard perfect.
Alberobello is known as the Capital of the Trulli. The trullo is a fascinating architectural feature of this area of Puglia, a building with conical roof made without mortar. Alberobello has special status internationally – designated a UNESCO world heritage site – because its collection of some 1,500 trulli in an urban environment is unique.
Some of the trulli are now used for stores, restaurants, and lodging. But many are still inhabited by locals, who are very friendly to visitors. As a world heritage site, Alberobello is a tourist attraction, but as it is less accessible from the tourist-heavy west coast, it is not overrun by tourists, and most tourists of Alberobello are Italians.
The town is the centre of an annual pilgrimage to the Basilica dedicated to the martyr saints Cosma and Damiano. Wikitravel
The houses of Alberobello
It was great to walk around the town (Picture via weddingmapper.com) and it seemed that all of the towns inhabitants were also taking in the amazing landscapes and going for a walk. That is the one thing that I alway miss when I leave Italy, the fact that at 6pm onwards, the whole town meets for a chat and a stroll.
I am planning for a quiet day today with a visit to the town of Ostuni this morning before getting back to Borgo Egnazia for the start of Radici del Sud 2012 this afternoon.
Talk about no rest for the wicked. Tomorrow I am off to Southern Italy for Radici del Sud 2012 and today I am packing as many orders as I can fit in for @mondoimports. Most of the wine going out today to restaurants and retail is from Southern Italy which is fitting.
I can’t wait to see what wines I will try and people I will meet: all with a common goal of lifting the profile of the wines of Southern Italy around the world.
I am also excited about the food I will eat. Southern Italian cuisine is only now getting the recognition it deserves in Australia and at Radici, the food component of the festival has been given almost equal weight. Good wine, good food and being in Southern Italy is my idea of heaven.
During my time in Italy I will be blogging and tweeting daily about my travels. Via twitter you can follow me @anthonydanna
Speak to you next when I land in Italy….
Anthony D'Anna: Italian wine importer and merchant in Australia
il vino da tavola 