Cantine D’Alessandro “Ardente” Primitivo is anything but a simple or ordinary Primitivo. The high alcohol content (16.5%), low bush-trained vines and the use of French oak result in a rich, concentrated wine with a long finish. The wine matures for at least half a year in small French oak barrels (barrique) and then for another year in the bottle.

The wine has a deep ruby-red to dark purple colour. The aroma is intense and ripe: black plum, black cherry, ripe dark berries and dried plum, joined by vanilla, cocoa and sweet spices from the oak. On the palate the wine is very full-bodied and velvety; the high alcohol brings warmth, but the ripe fruit and oak structure hold it all together. The tannins are rather soft and round. The finish is long, darkly fruity and spicy. The grapes are left to ripen for a long time, developing plenty of sugars. Fermentation was stopped when the residual sugar content reached 40 g per litre. Although the wine is high in alcohol, it is extremely well integrated with the wine's fruitiness, so you hardly notice it. Nor should you fear the considerably higher-than-average sugar content, because the wine's acidity is also right where it should be!

As for food, anything rich, flavourful and hearty works well. This, in turn, rather rules out fish and plant-based dishes, for which it would most likely be too intense. Chilling the wine would of course make it a little fresher, but it would still probably be too much. We therefore recommend it above all alongside slow-cooked meats (especially game), or simply enjoyed on its own without food. The emphasis is on that last part, because the wine itself has an awful lot to offer!

Cantine D’Alessandro is a family winery from the Conversano area of Puglia . The family's wine story begins as early as the beginning of the 20th century, when Natale D’Alessandro sold wine made from his own grapes locally. In 1953 his son Giovanni expanded the business and established wine production in Conversano. In 1981 the next generation took over the company, and in 1997 they began bottling their own wines. Today the company is run by the fourth generation and the winery has about 55 hectares of vineyards.

It should also be said that “Ardente” means in Italian “fiery”, “burning” or “hot”. This is a wine that is dangerous in the wrong hands, but oh-so-good in the right ones! It is certainly somewhat more expensive than the average Primitivo, but at least in our opinion worth every cent! It simply knows how to surprise!