Brett happens

These two wines actually came fourth in the tasting but the notes on the third-flight wines have yet to be written up. Guttarolo is based in Gioia del Colle in Bari province in Puglia, the heel of the Italian boot.

IGT Puglia 2009, Lamie delle vigne, Cristiano Guttarolo ($28.10, Glou, 6 bottles/case)
100% Primitivo from 30-year-old vines. Fermented 18 days on the skins. Matured 24 months. Sees only stainless steel until bottling. Native yeasts, no added sulphur, unfiltered, unfined. 14% ABV.
Simple but attractive and unexpectedly fresh nose: ripe fruit, candied cassis, slate. Medium-bodied (for a Primitivo?!), clean and bright with vibrant acidity and tight, airframe tannins. The sourish/puckery fruit has darker notes including a slatey undercurrent. Long. Unlike – and far more appealng than – other Primitivos I’ve encountered. Very much along the lines of the wines from new generation Sicilian producers like Occhipinti, Calabretta and Cornelissen. (Buy again? Definitely.)

IGT Puglia 2010, Amphora, Cristiano Guttarolo ($36.96, Glou, 6 bottles/case)
100% Primitivo from 30-year-old vines. Fermented with native yeasts. Fermentation and maceration on the skins last six months and take place in terracotta amphorae. The wine is then transferred to stainless steel tanks for an addition eight months’ maturation. No added sulphur. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. 13.5% ABV.
More complex and savoury than the Lamie. Slightly jammy fruit, slate and, yes, a hint of terracotta. Medium-bodied. Fresh – again the zingy acidity. The texture is softer and a little weightier, the tannins rounder and more velvety. Possessed of a hard-to-describe directness. Very appealing though the Lamie is the QPR winner. (Buy again? Yes.)