WTN: 2000 Masseria Monaci Primitivo Salento IGT i Censi
Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 4:47 pmOne 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.
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.
