San Marzano Anniversario 62 Primitivo DOP Reserva 2018

In case you haven't heard of this producer before, the Puglian based San Marzano has made a name for itself with astoundingly concentrated wines. Boasting multiple vineyards with gnarled bush vine, San Marzano craft red wines that are amongst the weightiest red wines in Italy.

The winner of the Melbourne International Wine Competition's 2019 Italian Producer of the Year, San Marzano is kind of like the Puglian Penfolds - just with less oaky Shiraz and more spicy Primitivo.

It was in 1962 that a group of 19 winemakers established ‘Cantine San Marzano’ with the goal of illustrating the potential of the wines of Salento, the peninsula caressed by the Ionian and Adriatic seas.

San Marzano Anniversario 62 DOP Riserva 2018 celebrates that founding year. Primitivo from 60 year old bush wines is aged for 18 months in French and American Oak barriques to support the richness and power of the grapes.

Complex and intense, yet with a padding softness to the tannins. Concentration from those old vines leads to a remarkable persistence and length of palate. No wonder it achieved 98 points from esteemed Italian wine critic Luca Maroni.

This is a mighty wine, that’s for sure. A wine of stature which has cemented itself as one of the finest Southern Italian reds in the world. Stocks are limited.