Lockdown surprise
If you cannot get to Puglia this lockdown season, then Puglia must get to you. A run on our stocks of I Pastini's vibrant, ripe and structured Primitivo Arpago was one of the first things we noticed as lockdown began to bite. It shouldn't have surprised us; priced as a modest everyday drinker, the Arpago packs in densely aromatic notes of dark cherry and cinnamon, dried herb and chili. It's a surprisingly serious wine at its price point.
Primitivo is a grape variety enjoying a comeback. Back in the 1990s, winemakers in Puglia were grubbing up the vines as fast as they could. The grapes didn't command a high price, and the labour in cultivating the low bush vines is back breaking. Then DNA profiling established that California's Zinfandel (then enjoying a boom) was none other than Primitivo; suddenly, everyone was looking at Primitivo again.
I Pastini's setting in the Valle d'Itria (near the inland town of Martina Franca) is ideal for winemaking; a crust of red, iron-rich soil lies over a deep layer of limestone. At 300 metres above sea level, they are high enough to get a dusting of snow in winter. The days are hot here and the mornings foggy, but the nights tend to be cool, bringing freshness to balance the ripeness in the grapes. The exposed location also means strong winds, which help keep the vines free from rot and disease. Gianni Carparelli is the winemaker and driving force behind I Pastini, but it's very much a family operation; Gianni credits his uncle, who is a professor of oenology at Lecce University and an obsessive of local grape varieties, as being the original inspiration. /NT
Offered subject to remaining unsold; available now
