Castel del Monte Bombino Nero
Castel del Monte takes its name from Frederick II's octagonal castle on the Murge, the limestone plateau that runs through the centre of Puglia. The name Murgia is traditionally traced to murex, a sharp stone, and the plateau is exactly that: karst limestone, its surface a pattern of rises and hollows, highest in the north-west, at Monte Caccia and Torre Disperata, and never above 500 metres in the south-east. The Apennines shield it from westerly winds; in winter cold, damp air arrives from the east. Read more ↓
- Tier
- DOCG
- Region
- Puglia
About Castel del Monte Bombino Nero
The zone takes in all of Minervino Murge and parts of Andria, Corato, Trani, Ruvo, Terlizzi, Bitonto, Palo del Colle and Toritto, in the provinces of Bari and Barletta-Andria-Trani. Vines were traditionally trained as bush vines or on low Guyot trellises suited to this hot, dry country, and only those forms are allowed in new vineyards.
Bombino Nero is the grape of the area's rosé, and this DOCG is a rosé: at least 90 per cent Bombino Nero, dry and fruity, from vineyards cropped at no more than twelve tonnes a hectare. Castel del Monte became a DOC in 1971; its Bombino Nero rosé became a DOCG in 2011.