Egiale Primitivo 15.5 – The Warmth of a Wine and a Friendship

Wine evokes memories, like everything that engages the senses of smell and taste. Often a wine takes on a special flavor precisely because of the context and the affection that can bind us to it. One such case I tell today. Mahmūd Shabistarī wrote "Drink the wine, for the cup is the face of a friend."

I have a deep attachment to Puglia – I have many friends there, and among them is certainly one of the best I have ever had. A mentor (not in the wine world, alas!), a projection of what I feel I will be in a few years' time. It is he who gave me, along with so many interesting conversations and wonderful moments, the wine I am telling you about.

I did not know Crispiano before meeting this great friend. That is where his home is, as well as the Azienda Agricola Guida. We are in a municipality that rises among the hills of the upper province of Taranto. The origin of the town's name is uncertain – some attribute it to the names of saints Crispo and Crispiniano, others to a Roman matron called Crispinilla or to Crispius, who apparently appears in the town's coat of arms; perhaps it simply derives from "callis plana," meaning "level drove road."

In its origins it was a small Messapic settlement, later invaded by the Spartans and then the Romans, with the Saracens passing through as well. The municipality is home to the Museum of Rural Civilisation and is known as "The City of 100 Masserie."

Azienda Agricola Guida has been here for three generations at 270 metres above sea level. It is currently run by Gianni, who in 2002 opened his first retail outlet in Crispiano, where the bottle and its attractive packaging were purchased.

The estate works exclusively with autochthonous Puglian varieties: Primitivo, Verdeca, and Fiano Minutolo, as well as, naturally, extra virgin olive oil.

This was the last remaining bottle from the production of their Primitivo Egiale D.O.C. 15.5° % vol. It fell to me… The 100% Primitivo is harvested from fifty-to-sixty-year-old vines trained in the alberello system. In the glass it presents a red tending toward violet; on the nose it arrives with force though not complexity – clear notes of red fruits such as sour cherry and wild berries, a warm and rounded palate, quite persistent.

We are talking about a wine to serve at 16–18 degrees, which pairs well with succulent meat dishes, game, as well as rustic and rather rich preparations.

My thanks to my friend for introducing me to this fine product from a small estate that, in my view, would do well to better differentiate its wine names and avoid featuring bulk-wine PET packaging on its brochures!

"There can never exist a cell to contain us, nor a distance that can bring our friendship to an end" – a toast to you, "wanderer among the stars."