Negroamaro

Negroamaro is the dark, savoury red grape of Puglia — the sun-baked heel of Italy — and above all of the Salento peninsula, where it has been grown for centuries. Its name reads almost as a tasting note: negro for "black" and amaro for "bitter", describing both its near-opaque colour and the characteristic bitter twist on the finish. The wines are deeply coloured, full-bodied and rustic, built around ripe black cherry, plum and blackberry with notes of dried herb, liquorice, tobacco and warm spice over an earthy, faintly tarry depth. It is the backbone of Salice Salentino and the region's other Salento reds, usually softened with a little aromatic Malvasia Nera, and it also makes a deep, dry rosato (rosé) that is one of southern Italy's classic pink wines.