SAN MARZANO | Collezione Cinquanta | +5 | #
negroamaro | primitivo

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Today we are are going to review an original wine blend from the Puglia wine region, that is located in the south of Italy (right there in the heel of the boot) – Collezione Cinquanta +5 by Cantine San Marzano. This wine is at its 5th edition: a blend of 50 vintages (from 1962 to 2012) of the two main puglian grape varieties: 50% primitivo and 50% negroamaro (some wine enthusiasts even nicknamed this blend as ‘super-puglian blend‘), where primitivo forms the wine’s main body and flavour profile, while negroamaro adds structure and ripe black fruit flavors to the final blend. The grapes we sourced from 19 winegrowers of the Salento sub-region, with their vineyards planted at 100-meters altitude on loam and iron-rich soils, while the final blend has been aged for 12 months in french oak barrels in order to gain extra complexity. Primitivo (also known as zinfandel in the USA) has been thought to be native to Puglia region (Italy), but it actually hails from Dalmatia (Croatia), where it is called tribidrag. As it turns out the names primitivo and tribidrag are both translated as ‘early‘ (from latin and croatian respectively), which reflects the yearly-ripening characteristic of this grape variety. Negroamaro (which translates as ‘black and bitter‘) is a widely planted grape variety in Italy’s deep south, especially in Puglia, where it can make expressive, seductively heady, age-worthy red wines. Some believe that «negro» (black) is a reference to its very dark colour while «amaro» (bitter) could refer to its strong tannins, or to the fact that in the past the negroamaro wine was left to ferment with the grape-skins for a long time, thus by the end of fermentation it was dark and very bitter. Both grape varieties put Puglia on the world’s wine map and it was only natural that some producers would try and blend them together to create a genuine, super-puglian blend. But enough with all that theory, 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 & noble garnet color
clarity: hazy garnet shades on the rim

//Olfactory
intensity: pronounced & expressive
fruit profile: black fruits | dried fruits
__black fruits: black cherry | black plum | blackberry | blackcurrant | aronia berry | black mulberry
__blue fruits: dried black cherry | dried black plum | dried aronia berry
fruit character: overripe & dried

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | sweet | earth
__spice: peppercorn | anise | cinnamon | nutmeg | cloves
__oak: oaktree bark | roasted oakwood | liquorice | black tea | tobacco | charred wood
__sweet: black mulberry jam | black cherry jam | raisins | dates
__earth: black soil | pencil lead 
primary layer: fruit & oak

//Palate
sweetness: off dry
acidity: high
alcohol: high
tannin: high
__grip: ripe
balance: good
__dominant: acidity
body: round | full body

//Taste
fruit profile: black fruits & dried fruits
fruit character: overripe & dried
non fruit: spice | oak | jam
finish: medium+
aftertaste: seedy-sweet

//Scoring
SAN MARZANO | Collezione Cinquanta | +5 | #
variety: negroamaro | primitivo
country: Italy
region: Puglia | Salento
rating: 94.2

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | drink now or within the next 2 or 3 years
verdict: great | a must try wine
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This is definitely a great wine of Italy and, with a total of 94.2 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 very crisp, seedy and extremely appealing super-puglian blend that is still developing but very close to the peak of its form, therefore we would recommend to drink it today or within the next 2 or 3 years, as it is always better to drink a wine a year too soon than a day too late. On the nose the wine brings a mesmerizing mixture of overripe, dried and jammy black fruits in the foreground, supported by a nuanced, spicy-oaky background and a subtle earthy layer in between the two. On the palate the wine delivers mouth-watering acidity, ripe and grippy tannins and a touch of alcoholic warmth that is showing through on the mouthfeel, which leads to a seedy-sweet aftertaste. All in all, this is a very expressive, rich and extracted wine, with a nuanced fruity-explosive profile and a full-bodied, firm but round palate – a real crowd-pleaser. Judging by the wine’s flavour profile and its jammy-rich mouthfeel, we would suggest to pair it with meaty dishes that are overwhelmed by sweet accents, like for example sweet beef teriyaki, honey-glazed pork chops or a sweet pulled beef sandwich. Enjoy!

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