Primitivo has found a fine home in Puglia where it is grown in Italy. Many believe that the history of the grape variety originated in Greece and jumped ship in Italy in the 17th Century where the monks got their hands on it. In many cases, all around the world, the monks have been the front runners in cultivating wines so I thank them for their dedication. Generally the flavours of Primitivo are in the red spectrum with a hint of spice but if you leave them on the vine longer you get jammy black fruits coming through.
Kangarilla Road Winery Primitivo 2008
Oh boy this is tart with flecks of cranberry, raspberry and spice coming into play. There are some nice chalky tannins providing an extra degree of interest but it just doesn't have the length like its stable mate. What you get here is an easy drinking good quality quaffer with a bit of interest and what held me back from going nuts over this was a slight dehydrated character on the mid palate.
Alcohol: 15%
Price: $22
Rated: 84
Drink: Now to 2 years
Are Kangarilla's Zinfandel and Primitivo the same wine, or are they actually different styles done with the same grape?
ReplyDeleteThe Zinfandel is made from the original plantings of the variety, whereas the Primitivo is from young vines. Kangarilla Rd was the first to plant the variety in the vales so they wanted to keep the parcels separate. There is a definite difference between the two wines but they do share a commonality.
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