San Marzano Sessantanni Primitivo di Manduria DOC 2018

As a grape variety, Primitivo had been introduced to Italy from the Balkans in 18th century.  Its Italian name suggests the variety ripens earlier than many of its peer black grape varieties. Nowadays, Primitivo is the signature style  for a large part of Puglia. Two legal appellations really stand out due to their prominent quality, the leaner and more elegant one is Cioia del Colle Primitivo DOC, and the bolder, more full-bodied one is Primitivo di Manduria DOC.

The town San Marzano is located at the very centre of geographical area of Primitivo di Manduria. In 1962, 19 winegrowers decided to put aside their difference, and came together established Cantine San Marzano. The brand has since grown into a world-wide famous icon for quality wines of Puglia. By 2000, SESSANTANNI entered production. Produced from old vines, it is the expression of a thousand-year relationship between our people and the Primitivo grape. The one label that has changed the perception of Puglian wines throughout the world.

To be specific, the fruits of this wine had been sourced from some very old vineyards selected in the area within the township of San Marzano and Sava. Much of the area has finely textured residual red soil with a calcareous subsoil, sparse rocky outcrops and intense presence of iron oxides. The vines on them, are head-trained bush vines at least sixty years old, some much older. They are planted at the density of approximately 5000 vines per hectares.

The fruits are harvest from around 20th September. For a relatively early ripening variety, harvest near end of September means all berries are very ripe, and they are harvested manually to remove any potential flaws.

The total maceration including vinification takes place for 18 days on 80% of the mass, and for 25 days on 20%, to extract the extra smooth and delicious tannin.  The process involves only native yeasts selected in the vineyard, and the temperature is tightly controlled at 24 to 26℃. Once the wine is made, it’s transferred to French and American oak barriques, to age for 12 months.

Sessantanni is heavily awarded, even just for 2018 vintage, here is the incompelete list of its accolations: