Influential Italian wine critic, Luca Maroni has just named this his wine of the year!
Luca Maroni's GREATEST WINE OF ITALY - 99 Points
In 1962, 19 vine growers from San Marzano whose families had farmed the land for generations, combined their efforts to establish 'Cantine San Marzano'. Through the decades this cooperative has grown significantly, attracting over 1,200 vine growers. Using modern and technologically advanced vinification techniques they produce elegant wines that pay homage to the ancient Apulian wine traditions. The fusion of time honoured tradition, passion and contemporary techniques, enables this winery to produce wines with distinctive varietal and regional characteristics while reflecting the local terroir. In the Sommelier Wine Awards, San Marzano was awarded European Producer of the Year 2017.
The grapes are produced in very old vineyards selected in San Marzano and Sava, planted at a density of 5000 bush vines per hectare. The soil is mainly red with a fine texture and is generally calcareous with few emerging rocks. The renowned redness of the soils is due to the presence of iron oxides. The climate is characterised by high temperatures all year round, very little rainfall and a wide diurnal temperature range, which has a positive influence on the quality of the grapes. This is the central area of D.O.P. "Primitivo di Manduria". The harvest takes place during the second half of September.
The grapes were hand-harvested once they had reached an advanced state of ripening. 80% of the must was macerated for a period of 18 days, with the remaining 20% being macerated for slightly longer, approximately 25 days, imparting complexity and a layered dimension in the resulting wine. The thermo-controlled fermentation took place at temperatures of 24 to 26°C. The wine was matured for 18 months in fine French and American barrels.
