Primitivo di Manduria comes from the plain of the western Salento, across the provinces of Taranto and Brindisi, on red, limestone soils a few kilometres from the Ionian Sea. Vineyards cover about 3,922 hectares, with an output of 216,600 hectolitres. The DOC dates from 1974; in 2011 the sweet version became a separate DOCG, Primitivo di Manduria Dolce Naturale.
A grape of uncertain origin
The origins of Primitivo remain uncertain: tradition has it that the Greeks brought it to Puglia more than two thousand years ago. Its first cultivation is linked to the countryside of Manduria, Maruggio, Sava and Lizzano, as well as to central Puglia, around Gioia del Colle. The name comes from the grape's early ripening, "primaticcia".
The rules
The regulations require at least 85% Primitivo, with other red grapes to complete. Minimum alcohol is 13.5%, very high for a dry red. The Rosso is released from 31 March after the harvest; the Riserva ages for at least 24 months, 9 of them in cask, and is not released before 31 March of the second year.
In the glass Primitivo di Manduria is deep ruby, almost black, with aromas of ripe plum, cherries in spirit, dried figs, carob, sweet spice and cocoa. The body is full, the alcohol generous, the tannins soft: a warm, enveloping wine.
At the table
It pairs above all with local dishes: orecchiette with ragù, braciole in tomato sauce, roast lamb, bombette, grilled meat and aged cheeses such as canestrato. The very full-bodied Dolce Naturale is a meditation wine instead. In the Salento, a few kilometres away, Copertino offers the area's other great grape, Negroamaro.
