Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This new, pure cabernet franc shows notes of citrus, dark fruit, cedar and sandalwood. Medium-bodied with refined tannins and a vivid finish. Such clarity and brightness. Better in a year or two.
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Vinous
Sweet lavender and violet give way to crushed blackberries, chalk dust and hints of white pepper as the 2020 Arso blossoms in the glass. It sweeps across the palate with ease, silken yet tightly wound as a cool-toned wave of ripe wild berry fruits swirls across a stream of vibrant acidity. Harmonious from start to finish and framed by silken tannins, the 2020 maintains its peppery personality throughout. Notes of tart raspberry and exotic spice lend further intrigue. The Arso is a varietal Cabernet Franc refined in 100% new 225-liter French oak barrels.
Cabernet Franc, a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon, is the subtler and more delicate of the Cabernets. Today Cabernet Franc produces outstanding single varietal wines across the wine-producing world. Somm Secret—One of California's best-kept secrets is the Happy Canyon appellation of Santa Barbara. Here Cabernet Franc shines as a single varietal wine or in blends, expressing sumptuous fruit, savory aromas and polished tannins.
Well-suited to the production of concentrated, fruity and spicy red varieties, Puglia is one of Italy’s warmest, most southerly regions. Its entire eastern side is one long coastline bordering the Adriatic Sea. About half way down, the region becomes the Salento Peninsula. This peninsula, bordered by water on three sides, receives moist, nighttime, sea breezes that bring a welcome cooling effect to the region, where little rain creates a challenging environment for its vines. In fact, the region is named for the Italian expression, “a pluvia,” meaning “lack of rain.”
Puglia’s Mediterranean climate and iron-rich, calcareous soils support the indigenous Primitivo, Negroamaro and Nero di Troia. Primitivo produces an inky, spicy, brambly and ripe red wine whose best expression comes from Manduria. Nero di Troia produces tannic, rustic reds from Castel del Monte DOC while Negroamaro, typically blended with Malvasia nera, plays a large part in may blends made throughout the peninsula.
Puglia produces a small amount of white wines as well, predominantly made of the fruity, Trebbiano Toscano, or light, Bombino bianco grapes.