Violet, Spice, and Southern Italian Sun
The Perrini family has been producing Negroamaro in the Salento peninsula of Puglia for generations, harvesting the grape known as “The King of Salento” on their sand, limestone and clay soiled estate. For many years the Perrinis sold off their fruit to négociants as the family lacked the resources to bottle their own wines. When a new generation of Perrinis–brother and sister team Vito and Mila–took over the estate in the 1990s, the estate forged a new path by building an underground cellar and changing to organic farming practices on their 50 hectare estate.
Negroamaro’s lineage traces to Roman antiquity, and generations of Puglians have developed a winemaking heritage that dates back for centuries. Originally believed to have migrated to the boot of Italy from Albania during the Magna Graecia era, the Negroamaro grape has always been known to produce a dark and almost inky colored wine, with notes of spice and earthiness that make for a complex and unique flavor profile. The Perrini family honors and elevates this tradition with their 2021 Salento Negroamaro.
Now a certified organic and vegan wine estate, the Perrini family has changed their focus from higher alcohol, overbearing red wines created from the grapes previously sold to négociants, to a more balanced, complex and dry Negroamaro that allows for a truer expression of the distinctive terroir of their estate. The thirty to thirty-five year old vines located in the hills around Castellaneta are now pruned to yield only 55 hectoliters per hectare, a relatively moderate output considering the high temperature climate. Harvest is now completed manually, and the winery only uses natural yeasts in stainless steel tanks.
The profile of the 2021 Salento Negroamaro is a testament to the change of philosophy of vineyard management and wine production at Perrini over the last 35 years. The wine is deep and brooding, with aromas of violet, red apple, dragon fruit, and a fair amount of earthiness and spice. The palate is exceedingly balanced with flavors of red fruit and ample acidity, and is relatively low in alcohol for such a warm region at 13%. Coming in at under $13, this is the perfect wine to pop open on pizza night at the end of a long week, or as versatile wine to uncork at a barbecue with friends and family. If you’re planning on celebrating over Memorial Day or 4th of July weekend, now is the perfect time to stock up.
