Just a few steps from Puglia’s enclosed Mar Piccolo, where the Sirocco and Tramontane winds collide with real force, Giustini Wines works from vineyards shaped by heat, sea spray and old Mediterranean soils.

The estate is rooted near San Giorgio Ionico in the Primitivo di Manduria area, where vines sit on sandy clay mixed with limestone and marine deposits just a few metres above sea level. This coastal influence plays a major role in shaping the wines, giving them ripeness from the sun but also a faint saline edge from the nearby Adriatic and Ionian seas.

The Patu Primitivo di Salento 2024 is made from 100% Primitivo, the region’s flagship variety, known for its naturally generous fruit profile, soft tannins and warm, Mediterranean expression. Here it is handled to emphasise approachability and regional character rather than extraction.

Ripe black cherry, plum and blackberry define the core, followed by dried fig, sweet spice and a light coastal salinity. The fruit is plush and open-knit, with soft tannins and a round, easy texture that reflects the warm southern climate.

There is a gentle savoury thread underneath that keeps it from feeling overly sweet or heavy, with a faint mineral-saline finish that hints at its maritime proximity.

A straightforward, expressive Primitivo that stays close to its origins, showing both the generosity of the grape and the influence of sea and sun in equal measure.