Apollonio Winery Salice Salentino 2003

From the heel of the boot of Italy, this rich red defines southern Italian traditional winemaking. In the same family for 140 years, Apollonio uses native grapes in its varietal wines and blends.

Salice Salentino is a small town in the andldquo;heel of the bootandrdquo; in Italyandrsquo;s Apulia region. Having been lucky enough to travel to the area, I can see how the extremely dry climate there serves to create this wine that is deep ruby in color, rich and heady with warm, complex aromas and flavors of dried cherry, raspberry, orange peel, coffee bean, vanilla, licorice and a hint of clove. The ample fruit and smooth structure means this wine is built for summer barbecues of chicken or ribs with a sweet and spicy sauce.

From the tiny town of Apulia, situated on the heel of Italy's boot, comes this light to medium bodied red blend displaying cherry, berry and cedar notes.

The 1998 Salice Salentino is a modern-styled Salice exhibiting excellent fruit (black raspberries and berries) as well as scorched earth, and melted tar. Chewy, rustic, dense, and mouthfilling, with good purity, it should drink well for 2-3 years. This wine is bottled without filtration. This wine should definitely be checked out by value conscious readers.

Deep, inky red. Soft red cherry aroma with hints of graphite and licorice. Enters the mouth soft, with flavors similar to the aromas. Finishes with slightly astringent tannins and only modest complexity.