Teatro Latino Primitivo
written by: Joseph F Coniglio
“Good wine breeds good times. Good times breed good friends.” Me. (Those old sayings have to get started someplace.)
For this installment we travel to the heel of the boot. Puglia is a region of Italy that is relatively unexplored. Fitting here because Primitivo wine is more commonly known as Zinfandel. Primitivo have been grown in this region since the eighteenth century and are similar to Zinfandel but harvested differently. It is actually a Croatian grape with deep, dark skins that ripens early, hence the name, Primitivo (Primitive). It is now grown mostly here in Puglia but in 1972 botanists declared it as the same as the Zinfandel grown in California. For both, the DNA can be traced back to Croatia.
The region of Puglia, or Apulia in Italian, is located in Southern Italy, as I said on the heel side of the boot. It boasts of a greater shoreline than any other region and borders the Adriatic and Ionian seas as well as the Gulf of Taranto and the Strait of Otranto. The sea breezes give it a climate perfect for viticulture but also for olives. 40% of Italian olive oil begins life here.
Primitivo wine is largely unknown however. This helps to keep the price down. In fact, it would be very tough to find a wine priced as high as a comparable Montepulciano. It is a very deep, dark purple in the bottle and really needs some aeration. So pouring it into a nice decanter or just allowing the bottle to sit open will benefit the taste greatly. It is not as sweet as most Zinfandels and has a very bold aroma which matches its taste. It boasts a very crisp taste with a touch of earthiness. It is kind of a melding of alcohol, fruit and acid all coming together to create a very complex drink.
Teatro Latino Primitivo lives up to the reputation established by history and the grape. The bottle it is a very deep purple with a white, pretty plain label. It is obvious here that the wine is the star and that time is spent on cultivation and aging rather than in bottle design. It is made from 100% Primitivo grapes but the taste is much more complex. Notes of dark berries and figs are present. At the first pour, legs are not noticeable, but left in the glass they do appear but very slightly. The wine is fragrant with an aroma that will travel across a room.
We paired this wine with a roasted pork loin and roasted vegetables and it did perform well. But I do think this particular bottle would have been better as an introduction to the meal rather than as an accompaniment due to the stronger flavor. It has an almost thicker consistency also and is very slightly sweet which is why I feel this way. Perhaps in another year or so it will be drinking better.
In all, I would recommend this wine as an introduction to wines from this region. Being a Primitivo, it may not be exactly to your taste but it is, as I’ve said, an introduction and should lead to further exploration. IL COVO is another wine from the same winery. That one, being a Sicilian wine is a different breed, and frankly, a better wine in my opinion. But I will revisit this one in about another year or so when it has more time to age and grow. I would say the quality, the process, the ingredients and expertise are all there. But it needs a little more time to reach its peak.
Alcohol – 13.5%
Price – about $11
Closure – natural cork
My own personal rating – I would give this wine a 7 out of an unattainable 10 grapes. As the song goes, it needs more time in the bottle.
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