Delinquente Hell Negroamaro 2019
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
This wine is very much in that light, splashy, natty style red vibe – but with more depth, savoriness and interest. The Negroamaro has a very earthy, forest floor feel, the fruitiness restrained by a herbal, aniseed note that is moreish and delicious. A faint lick of tannin and a sharp acidity throughout give length.
The approach is to focus on sustainable grape varieties that need less water and thrive in the Riverland’s warm, dry climate. They are organically grown, single vineyard fruit, all sourced from a small family vineyard.
This is complemented with a minimal intervention winemaking approach including natural, open ferments and no adds in the winery besides a touch of SO2.
The wines are easy drinking, smashable, silky, elegant and fruit forward wines – but with a hidden, subtle complexity and structure.
While robust notes of dark fruit do characterize Negroamaro, its modern expression doesn’t quite live up to the dramatic meaning of its name, “bitter and black.” This dark-skinned southern Italian grape variety is found on the eastern half of the Salento peninsula, which is the backside of Italy’s “boot heel” and part of the Puglia region. Negroamaro forms the base, along with Malvasia Nera and Primitivo, for the best wine of the area, called Salice Salentino. It can also produce single varietal reds as well as some impressive aromatic rosé wines. Somm Secret—Negroamaro is truly an Italian wine – no propagation of the grape is found anywhere else outside of Italy.
Quite the powerhouse region thanks to its proximity to the Murray River (and thus irrigation potential), Riverland produces over half of South Australia’s total annual harvest. While its warm Mediterranean climate promotes large volume production, many smaller, premium producers abound. Australia’s usual suspects—Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet—do great but a continuing local push for heat-loving Italian varieties like Vermentino and Nero d’Avola promises future diversity.