Negroamaro Salento, 2014. Tenuta Boncore
Appellation: Salento I.G.P., Italy
Wine tasting with Paul Kalemkiarian & Ed Masciana
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Boncore began as a co-operative of twelve growers in 1933. Within a few years, it had grown to over 100 members. Things were going pretty well until World War II got in the way. After the war, however, things eventually took off. Though Southern Italy was still a very poor part of the country, co-ops like Boncore helped to increase the value of the land and enrich the fortunes of the growers.
What began as a multi-crop agricultural co-op became more and more of a wine co-op. The growers pooled their resources to build a state-of-the-art winery so that each members’ grapes could be made into wine at a fraction of the cost of each one having his own winery. It was the only way that small, family-owned vineyards could compete in a very competitive industry. The co-op also benefited by having a fabulous indigenous grape of Southern Italy, Negroamaro, that has the ability to make an incredible red wine.
The name literally translates into “bitter black” because of the color of the grape and the slight bitterness of the wine. But, that bitterness can be brought into balance by the lovely fruit essences in the wine when the grapes are properly grown and harvested.
In this case, it couldn’t get any better. The force and presence of Negroamaro is unmistakable. It explodes with dense, ripe plum, pomegranate, black cherry and anise. What the Italians refer to as bitter is really the tannins which, in this case, balance everything beautifully.
