Tre Bicchieri 2019 Previews. Puglia's best wines

Puglia continues to grow and in this edition of Italian Wines it’s both a general growth (with four more wineries in our main section) and in terms of the number of Tre Bicchieri awarded (from last year’s 13 to 15 this year, its highest ever). It’s a result that’s in line with an evolution in quality standards throughout the region’s wine industry, but also its market success, especially internationally. It’s worth considering a couple of points here. There’s its Doc wines, which went unnoticed for years and are now winning over consumers, despite the naysayers and criticisms (which at times are justified and often levied by the region’s own producers). Undoubtedly it’s Gioia del Colle Primitivo that’s leading this renaissance, an appellation that’s firmly established at the top of regional production, followed by Primitivo di Manduria and Salice Salentino (Castel del Monte is still having to catch up). But it should also be said (even if producers of Negroamaro won’t like it) that Primitivo is serving as the Puglia’s main engine, both in terms of quality (this year the wine earned 8 of the 15 Tre Bicchieri awarded, and was more highly represented during our finals) and in terms of regional economics, image and success (both in Italy and abroad). Now for the wines. There were two highly newsworthy events. For the first time in the region a rosé earned Tre Bicchieri, and it’s none other than that historic and prized Italian wine, Leone de Castris’s Five Roses, in its 2017 74° Anniversario edition. And, also for the first time, a regional white took home a gold. It’s Masseria Li Veli’s 2017 Askos Verdeca, a wine made with Verdeca, a local, traditional cultivar. This year our Award for Sustainable Viticulture goes to Puglia’s Torrevento for the attention it shows towards these principles. And finally, to conclude, we never tire of criticizing the use (now diffuse throughout the region) of heavy bottles, which hurt the environment and has more to do with appearance than substance. Great wines (including Puglia’s) don’t need them.

Askos Verdeca '17 – Masseria Li Veli

Castel del Monte Rosso V. Pedale Ris. '15 – Torrevento

Five Roses 74° Anniversario '17 – Leone de Castris

Gioia del Colle Primitivo 16 Vign. San Benedetto '15 – Polvanera

Gioia del Colle Primitivo Baronaggio Ris. '15 – Vito Donato Giuliani

Gioia del Colle Primitivo Marpione Ris. '15 – Tenuta Viglione

Gioia del Colle Primitivo Muro Sant'Angelo Contrada Barbatto '15 – Tenute Chiaromonte

Gioia del Colle Primitivo Senatore '15 – Coppi

Oltremé '17 – Tenute Rubino

Orfeo Negroamaro '16 – Cantine Paolo Leo

Otto '16 – Carvinea

Primitivo di Manduria Raccontami '16 – Vespa-Vignaioli per Passione

Primitivo di Manduria Sessantanni '15 – Cantine San Marzano

Primitivo di Manduria Zinfandel Sinfarosa Terra Nera '16 – Felline

Salice Salentino Rosso Selvarossa Ris. '15 – Cantine Due Palme