Francesco Marra Primitivo 2021

Francesco Marra works in Salento, the southern tip of Puglia, where Primitivo finds one of its natural homes. The Mediterranean climate here brings long, hot, dry summers and abundant sunshine, conditions that drive deep ripeness, high sugar and the generous alcohol that defines the grape. This bottling is farmed organically and made as a natural wine, with minimal intervention in the cellar. Rather than oak, it spends eighteen months in stainless steel, a reductive ageing that locks in primary fruit and freshness and keeps the wine clean and direct, without the spice and tannin that barrels would add. The result is a deeply coloured red, full bodied and warming at fifteen percent. The nose leads with ripe plum, black cherry and dried Mediterranean herbs, with a peppery, earthy lift behind. The palate is broad and fruit driven, soft in tannin but carried by the warmth and concentration of the vintage, finishing on liquorice and dark berry. Serve at sixteen to eighteen degrees; it is built for hearty, rustic cooking and grilled meats.