One of our holiday purchases from a somewhat disappointing trip to Puglia (admittedly a few weeks past the end of season). At least we had some success with the wines!
2000 Masseria Monaci Primitivo Salento IGT i Censi - Italy, Puglia, Salento IGT (8/17/2006)
Colour is quite a rich claret with some browning at the edge. The nose is very rich and savoury with more than a hint of game amongst the ripe plums. There's a real savoury edge to the fruit that Italian wines seem to achieve more than anywhere else, with a balsamic quality. Acidity is spot-on bringing freshness but without dominating. The finish is nicely dry and whilst no more than medium length, is relatively complex - especially considering it's price.
Cost €5.40 (maybe ~ US$8 ) from shop in Puglia. I wouldn't normally mention price, but this is to our palates a fantastic bargain and to a degree influences some of these comments. We had a bottle of the 97 vintage at a restaurant in Speziale for around €9 last October (2005) and that was drinking beautifully. What struck us was the low alcohol for a Primitivo/Zinfandel (13.5 % I think for the 97 and 13% for this). There's nothing "green" about this wine, but also tellingly nothing hot about it either. It's significantly more than an uncomplicated quaffer and at the price it's stunning.
