Castello Monaci Primitivo Piluna 2024

Castello Monaci sits beside a castle in Salento, the heel of Puglia in southern Italy, and works the region's native varieties alongside modern winemaking. Piluna is a Primitivo from IGT Salento, grown on the local tuff, a porous volcanic-derived soil that drains freely and reflects heat back into the vines. Puglia's hot, sunny Mediterranean climate ripens Primitivo fully, concentrating sugar and giving the wine its ripe, high-alcohol character. Primitivo, the same grape as Zinfandel, tends to ripen unevenly within a bunch, which builds layers of fresh and raisined fruit in the finished wine. Six months in barrel rounds the tannin and adds a layer of sweet spice through gentle oxygen exchange. The colour is a deep, dense red. The nose shows ripe morello cherry, plum and raisin, with dried orange peel and sweet baking spice. The palate is full and warming, the dark fruit generous and soft, the tannin supple and the finish carrying clove and vanilla. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees. It pairs with grilled red meat, roast pork and hard, mature cheese.