MASSERIA LI VELI ORION PRIMITIVO IGT 2022

Primitivo is having its moment in the spotlight and this example from Puglia (The heel of Italy) shows exactly why. Ripe dark red fruits (redcurrant and cherry) along with spicy notes of cinnamon and nutmeg carry the wine to a smooth, sumptuous finish.

In 1999, the Falvo family acquired a 128-acre run down property (formerly a working winery) located in the sunny and fertile Salento region on the southeastern peninsula or ‘heel’ of Italy; armed with high ambitions and over 40 years of experience in the wine industry in Tuscany, they set out to rejuvenate the vineyards and cellar.

Winery notes (2022 Vintage)
"The name Orion comes from the Greek and refers to the fortified road nearby the vineyards of Masseria Li Veli (called Limite dei Greci) which in past times used to be considered the border between the Longobards domains to the North and the Byzantium reign to the South-East. Orion is a Primitivo in purezza, fresh, pleasant, full and soft with a remarkable persistence.

Dense ruby red with a purplish rim, it is immediately intense on the nose with marked aromas of ripe and fleshy red fruits, notably cherries followed by spicy notes of cinnamon and nutmeg; in the mouth it is full, powerful, smooth and very long, with a well defined acid streak which makes it fresh and pleasing."

89/100 Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, August 2024 (2022 Vintage)
"Lots of ripe cherry, almond and nuts, a bit of liquorice, dried herbs and chocolate. It’s full-bodied, a bit minty, with a distinct hazelnut and chocolate cake thing happening here, maybe there’s some warming alcohol. It’s a lush wine that delivers choc-cherry flavour a plenty. Perhaps a bit breathy and obvious, but hearty and honest. Good wine."