Non-Vintage — Salento, Puglia, Italy

Cantine San Marzano was founded in 1962 in Sava, in the heart of the Salento peninsula — a sun-drenched heel of Italy where Primitivo and Negroamaro have been cultivated for centuries. Over six decades the cooperative has grown into one of Puglia’s most respected producers, combining the deep knowledge of its member growers with modern cellar practices to produce wines of real character and consistency.

Collezione Cinquanta was created in 2012 to mark the winery’s fiftieth anniversary, and remains their flagship non-vintage red — a blend of equal parts Primitivo and Negroamaro, each variety vinified separately before assemblage. Grapes are hand-harvested at slight overripeness, then destemmed and crushed before cold pre-fermentative maceration with indigenous yeasts. After alcoholic fermentation, the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in stainless steel, then spends twelve months in French oak barrels to add structure and complexity without masking the generous southern fruit. The result is a wine of real presence and warmth, recognised internationally with 98-point scores from critic Luca Maroni and gold medals at Mundus Vini and the Berliner Wein Trophy.