Under the Italian Sun - Tasting Notes

We are bringing you two incredibly delicious Italian reds from Southern Italy, Salento. From the sun soaked warm and picturesque vineyards of Puglia region to your table, for an exclusive price to celebrate the end of the winter! 

Vallone's Diciotto Gradi 18 Negroamaro and Versanto Primitivo are great value wines with an impressive presentation. Don't miss this chance to get these premium wines for an amazing price!

Let's dig a little bit deeper!

Diciotto Gradi 18 Negroamaro

One of Puglia, Southern Italiy’s other native Negroamaro translates as black and bitter in English and does all the justice to its monumental name by being the darkest and hardest grape out there.  Negroamaro thrives under the dry sunshine of Southern Italy, loves the heat and very resistant to the drought. The wines that are made out of this rare and not world-wide circulated grape usually very rustic and unusual. It is a rare type of grape because Salento of Puglia region provides the best terroir and climate for it. 

Let’s get into what are we are looking at to experience with this marvellous bottle of Negroamaro. Vallone Diciotto Gradi 18 Negroamaro is 100% Negroamaro variety with inky, dark claret colour, a beautiful and somber shade of delicious red with a very interesting combination of thickness and clarity… It has a low acidity and a very high ABV of 18% which also adds to its interesting character. 

With the immediate spill, a lovely smell of a fruit bomb of dark fruits of dark and ripe plums, blackberry, mulberries and black cherry dominates the nose. Aromas of blue flower and spiced plum fuse together. The very first hit on the nose is sweeter like candied cherry and it slightly fades into hints of vanilla, cocoa, liquorice and a subtle brush of wild East-Asian spice.  

The finish is quite longer on the nose. When we moved on to the taste, we find something spectacular and very elegant. Once again the dark fruit taste is predominant however there are very surprising characters in the game. Dried fruits like black raisin, fig and mango, almond and biscuit notes makes this wine outstandingly savoury. 

This full-bodied, stunning red is a perfect match for red meat and also there is not a more perfect wine that pairs well with the pasta dishes with tomato sauce and pizza. Also the bottle itself is very special with 18K gold labelling and individually tissue wrapped!

This is definitely a wine that you have tried in Italy and loved but couldn’t find in anywhere else in the world. Once you try, you can not possibly forget about this one. 

Versanto Primitivo

 

A grape that thrives under the intense sun of South Italy, producing one of the most complex, yet easy-to-drink, easy-to-love red wine in the world. Making you think which one is better; to lose yourself in it’s red realm or deeply analysing it’s depths… 

Primitivo is the  Italian version of Californian Zinfandel. Of course, we see some sort of minor differences due to the climate and soil but in general terms this dark-skinned grape produces very similar taste. 

Vallone vineyards’ vintage 19 Versanto Primitivo is a suburb one that is both gentle and profound. We hand-picked this one as it is so special and delicious. Carrying the earthy notes of Salento, Puglia, form the very heel of Italy, and also quintessential characteristics of deepness and richness in colour and favour. Vallone’s Primitivo is inky, ruby red and rich in dark red fruit flavours like cherry ripe plum, raspberry. A very subtle minerality follows this rich complexion. Hints of cinnamon and pipe tobacco moves playfully with a brilliant hint of umami, a savoury note that completes this wine in a very exciting way. 

Vallone’s Primitivo is very smooth and easy to drink without losing any of its more interesting level of complexity! Either enjoy now or cellar it, this red will be in the list of your favourites, for sure!