2013 Cosimo Taurino Salice Salentino Riserva

Cosimo Taurino is the historical standard-bearer for traditional Negroamaro, and this wine shows why. With over a decade of age, this wine has completely shed any primary baby fat. The nose doesn't try to wow you with cheap, sweet plum; instead, it is a profound, brooding dive into roasted earth, dried tobacco leaf, black olive tapenade, and that unmistakably savory, sun-baked Mediterranean scrub. Beneath that lies a "crunchy," dried sour cherry and blood orange core that feels so unique. On the palate, it vibrates. You would expect a wine from the deep south with this much age to feel heavy or tired, but it absolutely refuses to be fat. It drives forward with a tense, vertical spine of acidity and the signature, mouthwatering bitterness that literally gives Negroamaro its name. The tannins are traditional, dusty, and firmly integrated. Finding a perfectly cellared, traditional benchmark like this—with over ten years of age—is almost impossible in today's market.