Latest Releases
from Italy’s South: The Wines of Calabria, Basilicata, Puglia and Sardinia

BY IAN D'AGATA | FEBRUARY 26, 2020Historically,
culturally and traditionally, “Southern Italy” refers to the regions of Abruzzo,
Basilicata, Campania, Calabria, Molise, Puglia, Sardinia and Sicily. This
report covers the latest releases from all these regions save for Campania, Sicily,
Abruzzo and Molise, which I have already written about in separate articles on
Vinous over the last year. In fact, Italy’s south is often referred to as the mezzogiorno (“noon”), much as the French
speak of a Midi in southern France; both
terms refer to the midday heat and sun that characterize the two lands.
Grouping all these Italian regions together makes historical sense, as they
were once under the rule of the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily. (In more modern
times, Italy is also commonly though technically incorrectly divided in thirds based
on geography, and Abruzzo and Molise are often included in Central Italy). In
fact, it can be argued that Italy is not one country (save for when the Italian
national soccer team plays, or during the Olympics) but rather a collection of
very different regions and people, each harboring its own cultures, traditions,
foods and history. Things are of course no different when it comes to wine:
each region boasts its own set of very specific grape varieties and wines. So
what people grow and drink in Basilicata has practically nothing in common with
the grape varieties and the wines of Sardinia and Sicily, for example.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1582645776841-Gregory+Perrucci+in+his+old+Primitivo+vines_copy.jpg"> Gregory Perrucci in his old Primitivo vines 

The Grapes and the Wines

Puglia is mostly a red grape region: it’s the
land of Primitivo (better known as Zinfandel in the United States and Tribidrag
in Croatia), Negroamaro and Uva di Troia (also called Nero di Troia, but the
variety’s official name is the former). And even though these three grapes inhabit
the same small geographic area of Italy, each expresses very different scents
and tastes, allowing the production of wines that differ greatly in their aromas,
flavors and textural profiles. Primitivo ripens very early (in Puglia’s hot
summers, it’s usually picked in mid-August) and its wines feature flavors of
ripe red cherry and tobacco, with little in the way of tannic clout. Negroamaro
offers herbs, red and blue fruit, licorice and tar, plus a curious note of shoe
polish that is very characteristic of its wines. Last but not least, Uva di
Troia gives the lightest wines of the three: medium-bodied, very refined
beauties that are quite unlike the much richer, fleshier Primitivos and Negroamaros.
But Puglia is also home to other grape varieties whose high quality has only
been recently recognized; these cultivars have become the source of monovariety
wines only in the last decade or so. The list includes red grapes Susumaniello,
Bombino Nero, the two different Malvasia Neras (di Brindisi and di Lecce) and
Ottavianello (better known as Cinsault), while the white grapes are Bianco
d’Alessano, Bombino Bianco, Minutolo, Moscato Bianco and Verdeca. The last of
these varieties offers a clear sign of how times have changed for Puglia’s
wines. Verdeca was once mostly used to make Vermouth, but today it is the
source of many juicy, fresh whites that marry well with the region’s seafood cuisine.

Basilicata is the home of Aglianico, and
Aglianico del Vulture (the most important Basilicata wine made with Aglianico)
is potentially one of Italy’s best red wines. Campania is the only other
Italian region where Aglianico is so prevalent. The other most important grape
of Basilicata is the local Malvasia Bianca di Basilicata, though Primitivo has
been planted in the southeastern part of the region around Matera (not
surprisingly, it’s close to Puglia). The well-known Cirò, made with Gaglioppo,
has long been the most famous wine of
Calabria, although given the many coarse, rustic examples of yesteryear,
one wonders why that was. Happily, Cirò has never been better than it is today.
But Calabria boasts other interesting grapes, notably Greco Bianco (a different
variety from Campania’ Greco; don’t confuse them, because the wines could not
be more different) and Magliocco Dolce, a high-quality red cultivar that gives
steely, ageworthy wines. 

Last
but not least, Sardinia is one of
the most exciting wine regions in Italy (please see my past reports on Sardinia,
including <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/sardinia-s-wines-high-quality-low-visibility-march-2018">Sardinia’s Wines: High Quality,
Low Visibility</a>, March 2018). The island boasts an almost endless number of
extremely high-quality white and red varieties, including Semidano, Nuragus,
Nasco, Vernaccia di Oristano and Malvasia di Sardegna among the whites, and
Bovale Sardo, Monica, Cagnulari, Cannonau (a Sardinian biotype of Grenache),
Nieddera, Carignano, and Girò in the red department. International grape varieties
grow in Southern Italy too, but for the most part they are of minor importance
in all these regions, which is a good thing. Honesty demands acknowledgment
that the majority of Southern Italian wines made with the likes of Cabernet
Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay are – with a handful of exceptions (and I do
mean exactly a handful) – poor at best and downright undrinkable at worst. Anyone
who says or writes otherwise simply does not know what he or she is talking
about. The world doesn’t need more bad, cheap Cabernet, Merlot or Chardonnay
(and not just from Southern Italy, in fairness).&nbsp; <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1582645824164-Lecce+is+one+of+Italy%27s+baroque+jewels_copy.jpg"> Lecce is one of Italy's Baroque jewels 

The Good and the Bad

As
always in life, when it comes to Southern Italy, there is both good and bad
news. Certainly, there’s a lot to like about Southern Italian wines. For one,
this part of Italy really does offer something for everyone. From fresh, lively
wines to reasonably oaked, more structured efforts, from crisp dry wines to
luscious sweet ones, Italy’s south presents wine lovers with an embarrassment
of riches. You simply cannot go wrong in choosing, for example, a well-made
Vermentino from a reputable producer in Sardinia, a luscious Primitivo from
Puglia, or an austere and ageworthy Aglianico del Vulture from Basilicata. It’s
also worth knowing that Puglia makes some of Italy’s best Rosato wines, though
in a darker, fleshier style than the ultra-pale, ultra-popular Rosés made
famous in Provence. Even better, given the quality of many wines, most offer
tremendous value, a veritable wine-buying nirvana for the savvy enthusiast.
Furthermore, a new generation is slowly starting to take over and run their
family estates; as these individuals are usually endowed with greater technical
know-how than their ancestors, and more inclined to implement lower yields in
the vineyards and greater hygiene and better-quality oak barrels in the cellar,
it is no surprise that Southern Italy’s wines have generally improved immensely
over the last 40 years. 

The
bad news? For one, the average quality of wines lags far behind that of
Piedmont, Alto Adige or Friuli Venezia Giulia. There are still far too many
poorly made wines in Southern Italy, most often the result of faulty
viticulture and winemaking. The use of overripe grapes, excessively high levels
of volatile acidity, off odors, and/or horrible oak (and too much of it) are
just some of the problems that plague the area’s less successful wines. Another
big problem, one that Italy stubbornly refuses to come to grips with, is that of
poorly managed (if not downright mismanaged) denominations and their wines. In
fairness, this is common to all of Italy, but it cannot be swept under the
carpet, as many politicians would like to do, that in 2017, Puglia’s best
Primitivo di Manduria producer, Gianfranco Fino, chose to remove his wines from
what should be a prestigious DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata),
preferring to sell them under the name of the Salento IGT (Indicazione
Geografica Tipica). Fino made this move out of exasperation with the Primitivo
di Manduria Consorzio, which he believes has failed to act upon all-important
issues that have very negative repercussions on overall wine quality, such as a
much-too-large production zone, or the bottling of Primitivo di Manduria wines
outside the production zone (something no serious, quality-oriented denomination
should ever allow). <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1582645852897-The+lineup+at+Vetr%C3%A8re_copy.jpg"> The lineup at Vetrère 

The Latest Vintages

It is likely that estates in Sardinia
will remember the 2018 vintage as one of the strangest and toughest of
recent times. Huge amounts of rain and even hail began falling all over the
island starting in the second half of August, and the rain basically never let
up. As it rained more or less frequently during harvest time, disease pressure
was inordinately high, and both rot and peronospora were real problems. The
most successful wines will be the easygoing, refreshing reds made with the
likes of Monica and Carignano, while those from varieties usually associated
with more ageworthy wines, such as Cannonau, will prove less memorable (Bovale
Sardo performed better thanks to its thicker skin). The 2018 Sardinian white
wines are generally fresh and enjoyable, full of early appeal; they all have
less fat and lower alcohol content, and are for the most part some of the more
graceful wines made in the last few years. Even-numbered years have recently been
quite difficult in Puglia, and
unfortunately, it is no different with the 2018 vintage. After a fairly wet and
miserable 2014 (2016 was only slightly better), 2018 also posed problems for
winegrowers throughout the region. While in 2016 it started
raining at the beginning of September, necessitating a rush to harvest, in 2018
the rain fell all the way through the harvest period, forcing estates to pick
waterlogged and all-too-often damaged grapes. By contrast, odd years have
proved very positive, and 2019 looks like it will be the best Puglia vintage in
some time (for the reds, at least). Unlike Puglia and Sardinia, no complaints
were heard about the 2018 weather in Basilicata;
quite the contrary, actually. In fact, 2018 was an outstanding year throughout
the region, and it followed on the heels of a very good 2017 vintage. Characterized
by both high grape quality and generous yields (Basilicata’s production volumes
were generally 15% higher than in 2017), it looks to be a very promising year
for the region’s white and red wines. The 2018 reds are blessed with fine
acidity and elegance, and will likely prove very ageworthy. Readers should note
that 2017 was also a good year for red wines in Basilicata: thanks to a
relatively cool mesoclimate and long growing season, it was not especially hot
on the Vulture, unlike in the rest of Italy. The 2018 vintage was also very
good in Calabria, where overall wine
production was up 15% over the more difficult, too-hot 2017 vintage. Budbreak
started earlier than usual, and the grapes (especially the white ones) needed
to be harvested earlier than usual, but for the most part, the wines are fresh
and precise. It’s undoubtedly a better year for red wines, with both Magliocco
Dolce and Gaglioppo performing well, accumulating noteworthy sugar levels and
allowing for the production of structured, ageworthy wines.<hr>You Might Also Enjoy<a target="_blank" href="https://www.vinous.com/articles/campania-2018-early-appeal-and-accessibility-nov-2019">Campania 2018: Early Appeal And Accessibility</a>, Ian D'Agata, November 2019 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/abruzzo-and-molise-another-brick-in-the-wall-sep-2019">Abruzzo and Molise: Another Brick in the Wall</a>, Ian D'Agata, September 2019 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/sicily-where-great-wines-and-lava-flow-aug-2019">Sicily: Where Great Wines and Lava Flow</a>, Ian D'Agata, August 2019 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/lazio-new-vintages-new-discoveries-jun-2019">Lazio: New Vintages, New Discoveries</a>, Ian D'Agata, June 2019<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/sardinia-s-wines-high-quality-low-visibility-march-2018">Sardinia's Wines: High Quality, Low Visibility</a>, Ian D'Agata, March 2018

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