Review: Varvaglione 2023 Susumaniello Rosso Puglia and 2022 Papale Primitivo di Manduria DOP Linea Oro
A regional pride emerges in places the rest of the wine world spent a century overlooking on the way to somewhere more famous. Puglia (Apulia) is one of those areas. It stands as the bottom of Italy’s boot, doing the unglamorous work of growing things sun-baked and historically responsible for supplying the country’s bulk wine needs while Tuscany and Piedmont earned the magazine covers. Salento, the heel of that boot, is where the Varvaglione family set up shop in 1921. The founding myth here is modest: a guy named Cosimo, some vines outside Pulsano, and no particular ambition beyond keeping his own household in wine. Word got out, and it wasn’t long before sailors stationed at the nearby naval base were knocking on his door, which is its own kind of five-star review: nothing moves bottles quite like a fleet of bored, off-duty people in the military. One century and four generations later, the operation has grown considerably, but it hasn’t drifted. Today, we check in with two of their flagship offerings.
2023 Varvaglione Susumaniello Rosso Puglia – Quite dense and full-bodied, this wine heavily front-loads spice and balsamic and leans heavily into savory, earthy notes of mushroom and black pepper with time in the glass. Strawberry and black cherry come into focus on the palate as it develops, balancing the savory qualities that push so heavily up front. The finish is unwilling to go lightly, and revisits the balsamic thesis, accompanied by a coda of cocoa powder and black cherry. This is not a wine for idle company or light fare: it’s brooding and needs to be served with something substantial. B+ / $27
2022 Varvaglione Papale Primitivo di Manduria DOP Linea Oro – This 100% Primitivo di Manduria is an intense blend of rhubarb, cherry compote and tobacco leaf straight through, with orange zest and raspberry making intermittent appearances on the palate. The rhubarb and cherry amplify on the finish, but it avoids disaster by keeping the acidity bright and tannins usefully employed. Zinfandel devotees will feel immediately at home, and this is hardly a coincidence: Primitivo and Zinfandel are distant cousins, explaining their common boldness and capacity for density. B+ / $34
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