Primitivo Ceppi Sparsi I Parieti 2021

Primitivo Ceppi Sparsi I Parieti 2021, natural Primitivo from old vines, full bodied but beautifully elegant and smooth.  This is the complete expression of a vineyard planted in 1959 amongst the olive trees on red soil rich in minerals, clay and outcropping stones.  It is a wine capable of turning with ease from fresh and spicy notes to a composed austerity, and brooding depth. The harvest takes place from mid-September in two harvests to obtain grapes with full polyphenolic ripeness but not overripe.  Fermentation lasts between 9 and 15 days with grapes partly destemmed and partly whole bunches; aged in cement, barrels, glass demi-johns and stainless steel.  Superb Primitivo, the best we have ever tasted.

I Parieti refers to the dry stone walls which encircle the vineyards in the Goia del Colle where this superb estate is located. The exact location is Contrada Montursi – and the estate produces and processes its own products: grapes, olives and cereals. The vineyards, mainly sapling and espalier, are Primitivo, Verdeca, Minutolo and other native varieties, and the main objective is to enhance their most authentic expression.

The owner Matteo Santoiemma wasn't a wine maker and in fact never drank wine until the age of 20. However he became interested in wine and after study in Bordeaux and many trips to places like Barolo, Barbaresco, Bolgheri, Franciacorta, Friuli, Irpinia, and Chianti, he eventually became a manager for Antinori. After 20 years as a manager, he decided to return to his home and become a maker.

The 'handful of stones' that his grandfather had left him (‘u tataranne in the local dialect, from which the eponymous wine label was born), turned out to be much more than that, an old farmhouse and a particularly interesting vineyard with typical alberello-trained vines, planted by his relatives in 1959. Matteo’s project 'I Parieti' came to life in this very vineyard, and he has continued to this day to grow this restoration of his family heritage of wine production. All processes are natural and organic, on top which the old vines and fine terroir they possess produces Primitivo of particular class and elegance.