2020 Bollina Magon Negroamaro Salento Puglia 750 ml

Sometimes it takes an outsider to realize the potential of a region.

Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot, is a nearly ideal climate for growing bold and powerful red wines. The region enjoys the sunshine you’d expect for such a southerly latitude, with rocky soils to challenge the vines and plentiful ocean breezes to ensure a long growing season. 

Driving around Salento, near the tip of the boot, we were struck by how rugged the land is—but also how rugged plants find it a paradise. Gnarled olive trees and vines dot the fields, while towering wild fennel provides highlights of yellow blossoms.

The region is much more focused on agriculture and yields than the culture of fine wine, so unfortunately, vineyards of great potential are often squandered in the winery. That’s why Bollina’s expression of Negroamaro, the most notable grape of Salento, is so important.

It’s made a full day’s drive from Puglia, in the hills south of Turin, at Bollina’s state-of-the-art winery. There, Andrea Bernardini, a respected consulting enologist, is able to transform this dark-skinned, powerful grape into the seductively polished beauty that wowed our team.

Andrea Bernardi earned his chops at Poggio Bonelli and Ruffino in Tuscany, and he takes fermentation management techniques he learned there and applies them to the sometimes-wild native-Puglian grape. He gives the wine a six-month stay in French oak—a step that would be considered luxe in the grape’s homeland, but is key to unlocking its potential.

A recent pollo al mattone, chicken grilled with lemon and oregano under a brick, was an especially fine pairing, as was ciceri e tria—a classic brothy Pugliese pasta made with chickpeas and fried noodles.