Masseria Altemura Salento Primitivo Sasseo 2011 750 ML

Juicy and medium bodied; reveals rich fruits, sweet herbs, and milk chocolate; leads to plush tannins and an elegant finish. Producer Information Masseria Altemura is an estate situated on the Salento peninsula in Puglia. It is best known for its regional wines made from some of southern Italy’s most famous indigenous grape varieties: Primitivo, Negroamaro, Aglianico and Fiano (the only white grape variety in the Masseria Altemura portfolio). The 130 hectares (321 acres) of vineyards lie in the Primitivo di Manduria DOC zone and are planted on soils made up of either stone or clayey loam. The soil composition, in combination with the estate’s proximity to the Ionian and the Adriatic seas provide ideal grape-growing conditions for native grape varieties. Masseria Altemura is also experimenting with the cultivation of more widely grown Moscato and Malvasia Nera, as well as Susumaniello, another Puglian grape variety. The modern winery has a capacity of 10,000 hectoliters, spans 2000 square meters and is powered by solar energy. When the red grapes arrive they are completely destemmed, pressed and fermented in stainless steel tanks. The wines then age in large format Slavonian oak casks and French oak tonneaux. Masseria Altemura’s Cru range has four varietal wines including Petravia, a Puglia IGT wine made from 100 percent Aglianico; Altemura, a Primitivo di Manduria DOC wine made from 100 percent Primitivo; Sasseo, a Salento IGT wine also made from 100 percent Primitivo; and Zìnzula, a Salento IGT Negroamaro rosé (rosato). The estate also makes a series of red, white and rosé Salento IGT and Puglia IGT wines under its Selezioni (Selections) range, as well as a pair of sparkling spumanto wines: one a rosé from 100 percent Negroamaro; the other a 100 percent Falanghina white. Both are made from Brindisi fruit. Masseria Altemura also has 40 hectares (100 acres) of olive trees from which it makes an extra virgin olive oil. It is one of nine Italian wine estates belonging to the Casa Vinicola Zonin wine group.