Borgo dei Trulli Lucale Primitivo Appassimento

Description

Borgo dei Trulli Lucale is a red wine made from 100% Primitivo grapes from the Communes of Avetrana and Manduria, in the Province of Taranto, southern Puglia. It is an Appassimento wine and bottled as a Puglia IGP (Indicazione Geografica Protetta).

Masseria Borgo dei Trulli, to give it its full name, is a new wine venture made by Orion Wines, a company created to bring together interesting wines from small growers and wineries from all over Italy. The company was created by Luca Pomaro and winemaker Alessandro Michelon with the premise of producing wines from indigenous grapes that express the typicity of the particular region where they are grown. The Masseria Borgo dei Trulli estate is located in the heart of Salento and is owned and managed by Orion wines with Alessandro Michelon as head winemaker. Around 80% of wine produced at the estate is red wine produced from Negroamaro and Primitivo with some white wine, including Vermentino.

The Borgo dei Trulli Lucale is made using an unusual method that seems to only be used in Italy. In late August, when the grapes have reached ideal maturity, the vineyard works go through the vineyard and twist the stems of 50% of the bunches of grapes. This effectively stops all nourishment and water reaching the grapes thereby allowing the grapes to undergo a natural drying process on the vine. This is known as “il giro del picciolo”, literally, twisting the stem. Using this method the grapes can lose aprroximately 25 to 35% of their weight in water thereby concentrating the sweetness, complexity, flavours and aromas in the grapes. After harvest in early / mid September, the grapes are destemmed and only the free-run juice is used, the grapes are not crushed. Fermentation is in stainless steel, with remontage and delestage in order to achieve soft extraction of aromas and gentle tannins. After racking, malolactic fermentation is induced. Finally approximately 25% the wine is aged for 8 months in French and American barriques.

Masseria Borgo dei Trulli is named after the traditional Apulian dry stone huts with a conical roof. These are known as a “trullo” or “trulli” in the plural and feature in the brand logo.