Passitivo

Data sheet

In 2007, the young winemaker Nicola Leo decided to take advantage of the strong Salento sunlight to make a different Primitivo wine, with pronounced flavours of mature fruit but without being a sweet wine. A precise control of grapes ripening and their sugar content was carried out, and excellent results have been achieved through a pre-harvest withering technique that concentrated all the solid components of the grape, enhancing aromas and flavors in the wine. This particular technique, only feasible in regions with an excellent climate such as Salento, produces bold and structured wines, with an overripe fruit profile without, however, an overpowering sweetness.

GRAPE VARIETY: Primitivo

APPELLATION: Puglia IGP

PRODUCTION AREA: province of Taranto, southern-east Puglia

TRAINING SYSTEM: traditional low-yield puglian bush vine

SOIL: clayey

PLANT DENSITY AND YIELD: 4500 plants per hectare and 1.8 kg of grapes per plant

HARVEST: For the whole period of the harvest, samplings were made in the vineyard, taking grapes from different bunches; this procedure is used to determine the sugar content by means of a refractometric analysis of the obtained juice. In mid-August, when the grapes have reached perfect ripeness, a pre-harvest withering technique called “Il giro del Picciolo” is applied. It consists in choking the stem of the bunches in order to prevent the nutrition of the berries, thus inducing a natural drying in the plant. The bunches are left to dry for about 12 days, losing about 25-30% of their weight in liquids, and concentrating aromas and flavors before harvesting.

VINIFICATION: After destemming, the grapes are gently crushed, allowing the skins to remain intact for a better extraction of color. Fermentation takes place at a controlled temperature of 22-25 °C for 8-10 days. In order to obtain greater aromas and soft tannins, frequent pumping over and délestage are carried out. After the racking takes place the malolactic fermentation.

AGEING: about 25% of the wine is aged for 12 months in French and American barriques.

ALCOHOL: 14.5%

CALORIES: 101.5 kcal / 100 ml

TASTING NOTES: deep ruby ​​red color, with overripe fruit aromas of black berry jam, black cherry and blueberry; raisin and vanilla nuances. Full-bodied, with a great structure, velvety and smooth tannins well balanced by a good acidity. Long and lingering overripe fruit finish.

SERVICE: decant and serve at 18 °C

FOOD PAIRING: well-seasoned sauces, mushrooms, red meat, cheeses and cured meats.