2022 Masca del Tacco, Ru Rappaio, Primitivo di Manduria DOC, Puglia, Italy.
An under the radar, value priced and tasty red wine at the recent Tre Bicchieri tasting by Gambero Rosso in San Francisco was this dark berry fruited Primitivo from Masca del Tacco in Puglia, a brand new discovery to me and one I’ll be keeping an eye on! This deep garnet Ru Rappaio Primitivo di Manduria is lush on the palate and lively, lightly floral with a dusty spicy background, much like an old vine Zinfandel, showing off a full bodied mouth of black raspberry, plum, candied cherry and huckleberry fruits, along with chocolatey tannins, lavender, minty herbs, anise and sandalwood notes. Great packaging with the stubby bottle and quality inside to match, it is a fine example of this varietal and I highly recommend chasing it down. Those that like the classic California Zinfandels will really be impressed here with this offerings.
The highly praised Masca del Tacco’s Lu Rappaio, that in Apulian dialact means “the bunch” is almost 100% DOC Primitivo di Manduria with traditional Apulian bush vines in the vineyard, which is on mineral rich red soils that has ancient organic matter infused. The winery says the processing of the grapes is done with a low-frequency de-stemmer, designed to preserve the integrity of the berries. Maceration and fermentation in steel at cool controlled temperatures, then maturation and refinement on the lees. After which the wine is typically rested in traditional used wood casks for close to a year before bottling. Primitivo, also known by its Croatian name Tribidrag and more famously Zinfandel in California is a mainstay in this part of Puglia and is great way to explore Italy’s South, and Masca del Tacco is a producer to look for, as this delicious vintage shows.
($20 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive