Primitivo di Manduria Dolce Naturale is a DOCG appellation used in Puglia southern Italy. Introduced in late 2010, it was Puglia's very first DOCG title, and is the source of great pride. Naturally the joy would have been greater if the DOCG title was not limited to the sweet variant of the wine (dry Primitivo di Manduria remains a DOC), but it was nonetheless a step in the right direction for Puglia's born-again wine industry.
It is only possible to make Primitivo di Manduria Dolce Naturale wines in particular vintages, when the climatic conditions allow. Under DOCG laws the grapes must be dried on the vine, rather than on drying racks (fruttai) post-harvest. The French call this passerillage sur souche.
The vine-dried, super-concentrated Primitivo grapes which are used to make this wine have a significantly higher potential alcohol than those used to make the standard, dry wines. In fact, it is so high that the finished wines have a legally required residual sugar level of 80g/l (grams per liter) and a minimum level of 13.5% alcohol by volume. In the local Puglian dialect, the dry Primitivo di Manduria is fondly known as mirr test, meaning 'hard wine'; the Dolce Naturale is too rare and precious to be given such a casual moniker.
Primitivo, the grape variety from which these wines are made, is a traditional grape in Italy, but this is the only DOCG in which nothing but this variety is grown. Other varieties, such as the Moscatos, are made into varietal DOCs and DOCGs all over Italy, but Primitivo has only one true spiritual home (unless one counts it as a single variety with California's Zinfandel). Primitivo is so called because it ripens early, not because it is less evolved than other grapes. It shares this characteristic with Spain's Tempranillo, whose name also refers to its early-ripening qualities.
The production area for Primitivo di Manduria wines is the largest of any DOC on the Salento Peninsula. It stretches east along the Gulf of Taranto coast for 25 miles (40km) from Taranto town, and as far north as Francavilla Fontana. The terroir here is typical of southern Puglia: a hot, dry climate and topography largely consisting of coastal plains. The vineyards here are ancient, and share the land with endless olive groves; Puglia is known as a prolific source of both olive oil (it is responsible for almost half of Italy's annual production) and wine. Fortunately the region is now beginning to shake off its previous reputation as a producer of blending wines as baked and featureless as the land itself. A number of producers are now creating Primitivo di Manduria wines of very high quality, and this is reflected in the growing success of the wine's export figures.
