Tormaresca Bocca di Lupo 2010
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James Suckling
Aromas of dried dark fruits, figs, walnuts and incense. Full body, firm tannins and a flavorful finish. Made from organically grown grapes. One of the most exciting wines from Puglia. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A pure expression of Aglianico, the 2010 Castel del Monte Bocca di Lupo is one of the standout wines of Southern Italy. Tormaresca was among the first (maybe the first) to make top shelf Aglianico in Puglia and the 2010 vintage was especially favorable to late-ripening grape varieties like this. Fruit from the Bocca di Lupo vineyard matured slowly and steadily until the end of the growing season. Vito Palumbo and his winemaking team made some small but significant tweaks in the 2010 vintage, including greater quality control on the sorting table and more delicate destemming to lessen the varietal’s natural astringency. One-quarter of the wine sees new oak (French and Hungarian) for 20 months. The rest sees second- and third-year neutral barrel. The aromas are impressive with little touches of black licorice, tar and resin that add pretty contours to darkly extracted fruit. Bold cherry and toasted almond give depth and dimension. Tight tannins and bright acidity bode well for the wine’s aging potential. I need to make a special callout to Vito Palumbo, manager of Marchesi Antinori's Puglia estate Tormaresca and "Mr. Puglia" in person. Few have championed the Puglia wine identity more articulately and more passionately than Vito Palumbo. Tuscany's Antinori family invested in Puglia in 1999. This ground-breaking winery subsequently brought a wave of new investments and hot-climate winemaking technology to the boot of Italy. The Tormaresca experiment has not always been an easy one. Despite the many ups and downs (including difficult vintages), Vito continues to be an inspiration for the many new faces that are now blossoming in the wake of Tormaresca's birth.
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Wine Spectator
A bright, harmonious red, with grippy tannins dressed in layers of black currant, fig cake, black olive and coffee, showing accents of dried marjoram, spice, tea rose and loamy earth. The finish is long and expressive. Best from 2018 through 2029.
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A wonderful joining of classic winemaking and modern viticultural techniques, these exceptional wines are crafted from 100% estate grown fruit, a rarity among Puglian wines. Tormaresca is the only producer with vineyards in both of Puglia’s two elite winegrowing sub-regions: Salento and Castel del Monte DOC.
The Tormaresca estate is composed of two properties. Bocca di Lupo is located in the Castel del Monte DOC of northern Puglia. It offers an ideal growing environment for Chardonnay, Aglianico and Cabernet Sauvignon. Masseria Maime is located on the Salento peninsula in Southern Puglia. Its vineyards extend over half a mile along the Adriatic coast and are planted with Negroamaro, Primitivo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.
Making its home in the mountainous southern Italy, Aglianico is a bold red variety that is late to ripen and often spends until November on the vine. It thrives in Campania as the exclusive variety in the age-worthy red wine called Taurasi. Aglianico also has great success in the volcanic soils of Basilicata where it makes the robust, Aglianico del Vulture. Somm Secret—The name “Aglianico” bears striking resemblance to Ellenico, the Italian word for "Greek," but no evidence shows it has Greek ancestry. However, it first appeared in Italy around an ancient Greek colony located in present-day Avellino, Campania.
Well-suited to the production of concentrated, fruity and spicy red varieties, Puglia is one of Italy’s warmest, most southerly regions. Its entire eastern side is one long coastline bordering the Adriatic Sea. About half way down, the region becomes the Salento Peninsula. This peninsula, bordered by water on three sides, receives moist, nighttime, sea breezes that bring a welcome cooling effect to the region, where little rain creates a challenging environment for its vines. In fact, the region is named for the Italian expression, “a pluvia,” meaning “lack of rain.”
Puglia’s Mediterranean climate and iron-rich, calcareous soils support the indigenous Primitivo, Negroamaro and Nero di Troia. Primitivo produces an inky, spicy, brambly and ripe red wine whose best expression comes from Manduria. Nero di Troia produces tannic, rustic reds from Castel del Monte DOC while Negroamaro, typically blended with Malvasia nera, plays a large part in may blends made throughout the peninsula.
Puglia produces a small amount of white wines as well, predominantly made of the fruity, Trebbiano Toscano, or light, Bombino bianco grapes.