Le Braci 2004

All stand to attention, Le Braci has spoken! This wine perhaps deserves a review all its own and I may dedicate a vertical to it. This is a very great Negroamaro, which until now has come out in only a few vintages (2000, 2001, 2003). It is a true son of Puglia, in fact a true son of Salento. It is made from ripe grapes grown on old vines and picked by October 20th. When necessary the bunches are twisted to reduce the flow of lymph. This wine came out six years after the harvest and still has a long life ahead of it. Its very long refining period and passage to new barriques helped augment its intricacy and sumptuousness. The taste is simply elegant and perfect, with many very delicate tannins, flavors of cherry and ripe fruit. The bouquet is very intricate, spicy, reminiscent of clay and if one closes their eyes they can almost hear the deafening chirping of a Salento cricket.