Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/426275
{ SOMMjournal.com } 71 Ognissole Primitivo di Manduria DOC ($17.99) "This un-oaked Primitivo is incredibly rich in fruit and robust in structure while lean - ing towards a modern elegance—not massive but rich. Bursting with red fruit on the nose, this wine is medium bodied and velvety in mouth." Ognissole "Essentia Loci," Primitivo di Manduria DOC ($39.99) "Our old-vine Primitivo, from grapes grown in the villages of Sava and Fragagnano, located in the heart of the Primitivo di Manduria DOC. After a slow, cool fermentation, this wine is aged for 9 months in barriques and 4 months in bottle. Intense ruby red in color, this wine is full-bodied, rich and well-balanced with aromas of red fruit and spices." Ognissole Negroamaro, Salento IGT ($19.99) "Made in very limited quan - tity—from a scant 4 hectares [9.9 acres] of vineyards—this un-oaked Negroamaro is deep garnet in color, with soft hints of violet and cut herbs on the nose and a long spicy finish." Ognissole Nero di Troia "Magnus," Puglia IGT ($39.99) "With fruit for this Nero di Troia coming from the villages of Andria, Minervino Murge, and Canosa, this darkhorse wine is an intense and deep ruby red. Rich notes of blackberries and ripe plum on the nose with silky tannins a long, balanced finish in mouth." Ognissole Chardonnay, Puglia IGT ($17.99) "The grapes for this wine are grown on our estate in the area of Fragagnano, close to Manduria, where the soil is chalky, mixed with medium consistency tufaceous (calcareous) layers. This Chardonnay—which is blended with a small percentage of Verdeca—possesses fresh notes of orange blossom, thyme, rose and lavender, with a mineral and sea-salt tinged finish, and excel - lent balance between softness and acidity." Tasting Notes Francesco Domini, General Manager of Ognissole, gives us a tour of the estate's wines. Domini continues, "The way the winery was built gives us the luxury of being very hands-on and proactive in the winemaking process, from the manual selection of clusters on the sorting table, to the regulation of temperature during fermentation, to the oak regime we choose to use for each of our wines," With winemaking operations being overseen by Pierpaolo Sirch and consulting winemaker Denis Dubourdieu, Ognissole is manifesting Capaldo's original goal with the property: to revital - ize the ancient varieties of Puglia and bring international recogni- tion to the wines being made in this sun-kissed region. "I wanted to condense the emotion of my first visit: my astonishment at exploring the old alberello vines and my perception to be in an area of great potential but still very rural. We selected the old alberellos one by one; we worked on yields and on oak aging to reproduce that emotion." Ognissole is a young love story, set against the backdrop of softly rolling hills on the Ionian coastline—one that just might be the stuff of legends.