Scazzaridde Puglia Bianco I Parieti 2023

Scazzaridde Puglia Bianco I Parieti, 20% of fruit macerated on the skins, a golden hue, intriguing spicy, grassy aroma and textural palate with excellent acidity.  Not sure what Scazzaridde means, (something to do with laughing at s*@t???) even speaking pretty good Italian, I will have to ask an Italian friend.  The wine is super though.  The skin macaeration is just the right amount to add texture and complexity to the naturally farmed local varieties of Verdeca and Minutolo.  It is fruity with a savoury note, dry but textured and has lovely depth with plenty of freshness.  A wine that is quite difficult to define like many Puglian whites but the quality is high and the flavour is delightful.  Drink with most things or on its own with some Puglian olives.

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.