Pillastro Primitivo Puglia 2023

The spicy, velvety fruit of southern Italy’s prized Primitivo in this much-loved customer favourite Pillastro is one of our bestselling Italian reds customers love all that richness, warmth and bold, ripe fruit. It comes from Puglia’s Salento region, in Italys deep south, best known for big reds made from the prized local variety Primitivo. It’s from Angelo Maci, a hero in the region for standing up to the big guns and championing the small grower. He started the cellar over 30 years ago with 15 growers, now there are over 1,000 and he knows them all by name. It’s not only growers he saves, but the ancient traditions and almost-extinct grape varieties that make these wines so rich, characterful and super-charged. A leading figure in the quality revolution, he’s made this rich, powerful red. A great match to spicy tomato pasta.

Saracosa 2024

Saracosa is inspired by the ‘Super Tuscans’ a style first developed by Antinori in the 1970s.These wines kick started the region’s renaissance and became some of the most exclusive and expensive in the world. Saracosa is from the Barbanera family estate, overlooked by the Saracosa hill near Montalcino. Half the vineyards are in the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, and the remainder just beyond. In the fine 2019 vintage Saracosa’s old vines delivered exceptional concentration.

The fruit was then part-aged in French oak barriques to lend a toasty layer of complexity. Dense, dark cherry and chocolatey tones make this a serious choice for pasta with pork rag or bistecca alla fiorentina (steak with cannellini beans in tomato sauce).