when young blackbirds met spicy Italians (Red Wine in General)

Member Name: anwar7

Product:	Red Wine in General
Date:	20/06/04 (219 review reads)
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I thought I would share with you one of the best red wines I have ever tasted. The wine in question is Da Luca Primitivo Merlot.

The wine
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Da Luca Primitivo Merlot to give it it?s full name is a full bodied red wine made from a combination of primitivo and merlot grapes both grown in the Salento peninsula in the south east of Italy. Before I tell you about the grapes, I would like to describe the Da Luca experience to you
On removing the black synthetic cork from the bottle and putting the bottle to your nose a rich, slightly spicy aroma tinged with fruit greets you. When poured the wine is a beautiful rich deep red. The taste is truly a delight. It is very smooth and rich with a lovely hint of blackcurrant. This wine is not too dry and leaves no tannin after taste, something I dislike in many red wines. I should warn you to treat this wine with respect as it has an alcohol content of 14%. This wine goes well with roast meats, pasta dishes and cheese.
The wine comes in a green glass bottle with a red top. The name Da Luca is written in white letters. Near the bottom of the bottle is a stylish white band with a gold circle containing the Italian flag.

The grapes
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The Primitivo grape is grown in the vineyards of Puglia in Southern Italy (the heel bit of the boot) and is a variety of the Californian Zinfandel grape. The vineyards thrive in this part of Italy, which is close to the sea and has very hot summers. The vines are hardy need little water and grow well in the stony soil of the area. The grapes ripen early and are harvested in August. They have a naturally high sugar content, which results in the high alcohol content of the wine.
The merlot grape is grown all over the world, but is usually associated with France, (the name merlot means young blackbird in French). Most Italian merlot vineyards are situated in the northeast but the merlot grapes used in this wine are grown in the same region as the
Primitivo grapes. It is the merlot grape that gives the wine its blackcurrant flavour. Merlot is often used as a blending grape and seems to blend well with the primitivo grape.

More information
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If I haven?t managed to convince you to try a bottle yet, let me tell you a bit about western wines the distributors of this wine. Western wines are based in Shropshire and have been distributing wines since 1980.They only associate themselves with good quality wines and at present distribute over 400 wines such as Kamala from South Africa, Some of Tesco finest and some from Marks and Spencer. Western wines were voted distributor of the year in 2002 by wine magazine. In a nutshell this company does not deal with cheap plonk!
The wine is of course bottled in Italy by mgm Monda del vino Priocca . In 2003 this wine won a bronze (should have been gold) award from the international wine and spirit competition.
Da Lucca can be bought from Waitrose, sainsburys, safeway and the co-op. I paid £4.99 for my bottles from Waitrose.I have not spotted this on offer yet and I have been buying it since the summer. The wine is suitable for vegetarians I forgot to mention that this wine has also been recommended by Malcolm Gluck.I really hope that I have persuaded you to try some, you won?t be sorry, unless you forget the high alcohol content that is-you have been warned!

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