Puglian all one’s talents
I Parieti was founded in 2019 by Matteo Santoiemma on his family farm in the Murge between Bari, Taranto and Matera. Matteo personally takes care of the vineyards which are planted with both alberello and cordon-trained vines of Primitivo, Verdeca, Minutolo and other indigenous grape varieties. The aim is to preserve varietal character and a sense of place. I Parieti is about three main themes. Stones: the typical dry-stone walls (“Parieti” in dialect) that embrace and protect the vineyards. Family: from both sides, passion, commitment and contradiction strongly intertwine, anchoring the present to the past. And Love: unconsciously cultivated at a tender age and then blooming as an adult, the love towards his land.
The vineyard for the Scazzaridde (the name is local dialect meaning little whirlwind) at 360 metres a.s.l on calcareous-tuffaceous soil with a northern exposure. These tuffaceous soils are characterised by a soft, friable, and porous sedimentary rock consisting of calcium carbonate and formed by evaporation, especially at the mouth of a hot spring or on a drying lake bed
Matteo practices sustainable and organic viticulture, with some biodynamic practices used (not certified), including prep 500 (cow horn manure).
The blend (which changes according to vintage) is 55% Verdeca & 45% Minutolo (an Apulian sub-variety of Fiano). Verdeca seems to be a local variety, though it may have originated in the eastern Mediterranean. Ampelographer José Vouillamoz suggests that it is in fact the same variety as Lagorthi, a light-skinned Greek variety produced in Achaia in the north of the Peloponnese Peninsula and prized for elegant minerality and crispness.
Grapes are harvested manually in small crates during the early morning hours between late September and early October and then de-stemmed and vinified separately in open vats, fermenting with their own yeasts. About 20% remain in contact with their skins for a few days. Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally, whereupon ageing continues on fine lees in steel vats for a further seven months until bottling without filtration or fining and minimal added sulphites.
Scazzaridde has a light amber colour and sports lovely aromatics redolent of flowers, fruits and spice including chamomile, acacia, ginger, yellow apple and pear. The wine is surprisingly light on its feet with a certain savoury quality balanced by ripe citrus and a gentle lick of acidity.
2023 Scazzaridde IGT Puglia Bianco
*
Interested in finding out more about ‘Scazzaridde’ and other wines from I Parieti? Contact us directly:
shop@lescaves.co.uk | sales@lescaves.co.uk | 01483 538820