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WTN: 2000 Masseria Monaci Primitivo Salento IGT i Censi

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Ian Sutton

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WTN: 2000 Masseria Monaci Primitivo Salento IGT i Censi

by Ian Sutton » Thu Aug 17, 2006 4:47 pm

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.
Last edited by Ian Sutton on Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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James Roscoe

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Re: WTN: 2000 Masseria Monaci Primitivo Salento IGT i Censi

by James Roscoe » Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:02 pm

Great note Ian. Primitivos achieve a greatness that Zinfandels, despite being the same grape, just can't reach at the same price point. There is also something so distinctively "Italian" about a Primitivo that is wonderful. I love it. I am not a huge fan of the A Mano which is the most ubiquitous Primitivo on this side of the Atlantic, but I love the Rocca Dei Mare and most of the others I've tried. They all beat most $20 Zins and the Primitivos are almost always in the $12-$13 range. I suppose with reviews like this we'll start to see price creep. Enjoy!
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Re: WTN: 2000 Masseria Monaci Primitivo Salento IGT i Censi

by Ian Sutton » Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:08 pm

James Roscoe wrote:I suppose with reviews like this we'll start to see price creep. Enjoy!

Where's the delete button - please! :oops:

Agree the A Mano, as I tried it a while back and it lacked anything of interest - it seemed like they tried to make an international supermarket wine, and sadly I think they achieved it :wink:

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Ian
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Re: WTN: 2000 Masseria Monaci Primitivo Salento IGT i Censi

by Bob Parsons Alberta » Thu Aug 17, 2006 10:54 pm

Spot on Ian? Did you see my tasting notes last week on the A. Mano? At the Zin tasting.
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Re: WTN: 2000 Masseria Monaci Primitivo Salento IGT i Censi

by Ian Sutton » Fri Aug 18, 2006 7:40 am

Bob
I hadn't but will (The name A Mano means I usually switch off :oops: )
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