Did you know that it might take you around two years to get through all known Italian wines made with indigenous grape varietals? Even if you had a different varietal wine every single day.
It’s liberating and adventurous to know that there will always be an Italian indigenous varietal wine that you never tasted. Liberating because you never gonna run out of a new wine to try when you tired of omnipresent Cab, Chard, Riesling, Pinot, Sauv Blanc, and Syrah. Adventurous because wineswinging with Italian wines, it’s like meeting new friends from entirely different backgrounds and walks of life.
That’s why we’re always on the lookout for Italian wines we never tasted before when we at the wine shop. Two recent discoveries were Calafuria Tormaresca Rosato 2019 and Forte Incanto Susumaniello Salento IGP 2018. We already shared our notes on Calafuria, and now it’s Susumaniello’s turn.
What’s on the Label
Old World’s wines often have complicated labels, looking like a short story. And kinda makes sense because there’s a story to tell.
Let’s decipher the label of the Forte Incanto Susumaniello Salento IGP first. Forte Incanto is the producer. Salento IGP (Indicazione Geographica Protetta) is the wine region located in Puglia of Southern Italy. Finally, Susumaniello is a base grape for this wine.
Susumaniello
Susumaniello is a native black grape variety long known in the province of Brindisi in Puglia. Its name possibly is a synonym of somarello, meaning donkey, referring to the animal’s might in carrying large loads and drawing parallel to this varietal productivity.
According to the DNA analysis, it’s a cross between Garganega and Uva Sogra, a Puglia table grape. As a result, despite being a minor grape of Italy, it’s a great-grandparent of eight other varietals related to Garganega, including Trebbiano Toscano and Catarratto Bianco, some of the most cultivated white grapes in Italy.
Typically, Susumaniello based wines have a deep color with red fruit character and can be quite tart and harsh. It might explain why most often, it’s blended two other local varietals Negroamaro and Malvasia Nera di Brindisi. 100% Susumaniello is seldomly produced.
Being a minor grape, Susumaniello is a rare wine because there are only around 200 acres grown in Italy. That’s what makes Italian wine swinging so exciting. Often it’s one of a kind thing.
Forte Incanto Susumaniello Salento IGP 2018
In the Glass
Susumaniello has a deep ruby color, just as we expected.
On the nose, we sense aromas red plum, tobacco, tar, and dark chocolate.
The flavors continued with plum, black olives, leathery, and dark chocolate notes.
Finish
The chocolate-dipped prune led us to believe that there was some Negroamaro blended with Susumaniello.
At first, when we poured the wine, it felt a little reductive on the nose. If you’d like to taste the 2018 Forte Incarto Susumaniello too, pop it ahead of time or let open up in a glass for 5-10 minutes.
We are curious to know if you tasted Susumaniello’s wines, and what are your thoughts? Any suggestions on trying other Italian varietals?
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