Paolo Leo Salice Salentino Riserva DOC 2019

This has a bit of everything you want in a red wine: plenty of ripe and juicy berry fruit, but all balanced by well-judged oak, pleasant tannic structure, enough acidity to keep things fresh and some bottle age for added complexity.

The soil is predominantly calcareous-clay, with more sandy areas and others with exposed rock. This kind of soil together with the mild climate have made Salento, a sub-region of the Apulia region, a fertile soil, so that its economy is based on agriculture. The Adriatic coast is often beaten by the cold Tramontana wind, the Ionian side by the hot winds of south-African origin; this difference in temperature between the two seas gives rise to a nocturnal ventilation. This condition causes an important thermal excursion which is decisive for the final quality of the grapes and therefore of the wines.

50 year old Apulian bush vines. 4500 plants per hectare and 2 kg of grapes per plant. Manual harvest is performed in baskets in the early morning hours, to avoid high temperatures that could cause loss of freshness and aroma.

The harvest is at dawn. Stemming and soft pressing of the grapes. Fermentation at a controlled temperature of 25 ° C. 12 months in French oak barrels, 6 months in large oak barrels, 4 months in stainless steel tanks and 4 months in bottle.

12 months in French oak barrels, 6 months in large oak barrels, 4 months in stainless steel tanks and 4 months in bottle.

Excellent with pasta dishes, roast meats and mature cheese.