PASQUA | Desire Lush & Zin | Primitivo | Puglia | 2020
primitivo

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Today we are also going to review a single-varietal primitivo wine from Puglia – Desire Lush & Zin Primitivo Puglia 2020 by Pasqua Vigneti e Cantine. Primitivo (also known as zinfandel in the USA) has been thought to be native to Puglia, but it actually hails from Croatia (Dalmatia), where it is called tribidrag. In the last century it was noted that zinfandel and primitivo were very similar. The more researchers looked at them, the more similarities emerged, thus DNA analysis removed any doubt – the two varieties were genetically identical. More than that, further DNA analysis revealed that both varieties are identical to a croatian variety called crljenak kastelanski, which raised the question: which variety is the oldest and which name was the correct one. In 2011 an even older croatian variety, called tribidrag, was found to be genetically identical, therefore the consensus was that this is the prime name. As it turns out the names primitivo and tribidrag are both derived from words meaning ‘early‘ in latin and croatian respectively, which reflects the yearly-ripening characteristic the grape variety. This particular wine has been aged for 6 months in oak barrels and is a marriage of two styles: the plush californian zinfandel and the rustic italian primitivo. That said and without further ado, let’s take a look at the wine tasting results.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
colour: deep & opaque ruby color
clarity: hazy ruby shades on the rim

//Olfactory
intensity: rich & expressive
fruit profile: black fruits
__black fruits: black cherry | blackcurrant | aronia | black plum | dried black cherry | dried black plum
fruit character: overripe & dried

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | savory | earth
__spice: black pepper | nutmeg | cloves | tonka seeds
__oak: roasted oakwood | charred wood | liquorice
__savory: iron | veal | leather
__earth: black soil | dust
primary layer: fruit & oak

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: high
tannin: medium+
__grip: ripe
balance: good
__dominant: alcohol & acidity
body: firm | medium+

//Taste
fruit profile: black fruits
fruit character: overripe & dried
non fruit: spice & oak
finish: medium
aftertaste: crisp & seedy

//Scoring
PASQUA | Desire Lush & Zin | Primitivo | Puglia | 2020
variety: primitivo
country: Italy
region: Puglia
rating: 92.3

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | age for 2 or 3 more years
verdict: fine | highly recommended
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This is definitely a fine wine of Italy and, with a total of 92.3 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Verdict: this is a quite youthful primitivo wine that is still in its early development stages and needs more time to develop before it will reach its full potential. We would recommend to give it another 2 to 3 years of bottle ageing in order to allow it to develop further complexity and round up its rough edges. On the nose the wine brings a mixture of overripe and dried black fruits in the foreground, followed by a very nuanced, spicy-oaky background and a subtle earthy layer in between the two. On the palate the wine delivers exuberant acidity, ripe tannins and an overwhelming touch of alcoholic warmth showing through on the mouthfeel, which leads to a quite seedy-crisp aftertaste. All in all, this is a fruit-forward, rich and extracted primitivo wine, that is made in a clear cut, new world style. Our recommendation is to pair it with meaty dishes with spicy accents, like for example grilled veal chops or barbequed t-bone steak. Enjoy!

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© The WineStatistics ratings are based solely on our own knowledge of the world of wine and on our personal wine tastes, which may, or may not, differ from yours – the reader. Just remember that there are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.