Luccarelli

Sava and Manduria

Luccarelli’s principal setting is the Sava area and the adjoining territory toward Manduria, in Puglia. The landscape around Sava is predominantly flat. Its Mediterranean climate brings long, hot summers, moderated by sea breezes arriving from the two seas surrounding the Salento peninsula. These breezes continually cool the vineyards.

The characteristic soils are brick red and rich in iron oxides, with limestone beneath. In the Primitivo di Manduria zone between Sava and Manduria, intense sunshine and proximity to the Ionian Sea are particularly important influences.

Eastern Taranto and the wider Salento peninsula

Other vineyards lie a short distance east of Taranto. Soils vary between red clay and intensely red, iron-rich earth over calcareous rock. Ionian breezes moderate these sites and influence grape development.

The white-wine vineyards occupy well-exposed Salento sites with red and clay soils. Negroamaro is associated with sandy and clay soils, bright sunshine and cool sea breezes; vineyards share this agricultural landscape with olive trees and wheat fields.

Warm, dry Salento sites with clay-limestone soils retain water and remain cooler during very hot summers. The diurnal temperature range is an important feature of these vineyards. Sites near the provinces of Brindisi and Lecce combine a warm, consistently windy climate with marked day-to-night temperature changes.

Harvesting is carried out manually, bunch by bunch. The fruit is handled with the objective of delivering healthy, intact grapes to the cellar.

Traditional alberello training is central to the old Primitivo vineyards between Sava and Manduria. Documented vine ages exceed 30 years, while the low-yielding alberelli selected for Il Bacca are more than 60 years old. Primitivo ripens early and is harvested at the end of August.

Growers’ accumulated experience and close familiarity with individual vineyards underpin the work in the field. Their seasonal activity is presented as being governed by the rhythms of nature.

Harvest reception

All grapes are picked by hand, bunch by bunch, and transported to the cellar healthy and intact. Vinification and maturation are supervised by the winemaking team, with Danilo Gizzi identified as winemaker or oenologist throughout the available Luccarelli technical documentation.

White-wine process

White grapes undergo soft pressing at very low temperature. The must is clarified statically before fermentation at cold temperature, followed by inoculation of the clear must with yeast. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in stainless-steel tanks at 11°C. The wine then remains on its lees for two to three months.

Red-wine process

The documented red-wine protocol begins with destemming and crushing. Maceration proceeds for eight to ten days under temperature control, accompanied by regular pump-overs. The wine is then drained or racked, and malolactic fermentation takes place in stainless-steel tanks.

Selected Negroamaro and Primitivo lots mature for four to five months in used American and French oak barriques. The documented Campo Marina Primitivo di Manduria protocol extends maturation in American and French oak barriques to six to eight months. A separate Rosso protocol ends with malolactic fermentation in stainless steel, without a subsequent maturation vessel or period specified.