An aromatic wine with pronounced notes of fresh apricots, passion fruit, lime and orange blossom with hints of almond. The palate is full-bodied and complex, with a light spritz and zesty acidity on the finish.

Mark Shannon and his partner Elvezia Sbalchiero have revolutionised the style and calibre of Primitivo, turning it into one of Puglia’s most talked about grape varieties. They achieved this at A Mano, in Salento, by paying fair, high prices for the best possible grapes (sourced from 70 to 100-year-old vines) and focusing exclusively on quality, while crafting a modern style. As the old saying goes, where you lead others will follow.

The continued success of A Mano is at least partly attributable to the knowledge that Mark and Elvezia have gleaned from over 18 vintages in Puglia. Not only do they have access to Salento’s best grapes, but their growers have also realised that if they want the higher price paid by A Mano, they need to provide quality to match.

The quality of fruit shines through in A Mano wines. A Mano Bianco is a blend of Fiano and Greco and displays aromas of ripe pear and orange blossom. The Rosato, made from 100% Primitivo, is fermented at low temperatures to retain the delicate perfume of the variety. The ‘Imprint’ Primitivo Appassito is made in the style of an Amarone and delivers a similarly rich and powerful expression. Their ‘Prima Mano’ Primitivo is produced only in excellent vintages. Sourced from two ancient vineyards planted on the red sand soils of the Ionian coast, the resulting wine is extremely dark and concentrated, with the spiciness typical of Primitivo. The ‘Prima Mano’ Negroamaro hails from 70-year-old vines. The wine is beautifully complex, with velvety tannins and notes of rose petals, violets, black cherries, and damask plums.

The rare and ancient red Puglian variety, Susumaniello was used mostly as a blending component until a few years ago. The name means ‘little donkey’ in the local dialect, referring to the enormous load the vines bear when young. Others argue the name derives from it being stubborn and difficult to manage. The wine is deep, inky purple and full-bodied with intense aromas of blackberry and violets.

This wine is made from the Fiano Minutolo clone from Puglia which resembles Riesling or Viognier, as opposed to the Fiano di Avellino which is used to make the DOC wines of Campania. The Fiano Minutolo vineyards are situated in the Itria valley in the heart of Puglia. The valleys provide constant airflow from the Adriatic Sea to the warmer interior area. Fresh breezes lower the night-time temperatures, encouraging the development of lovely perfumes in the grapes. Greco grapes for the wine come from a very old, non-irrigated, sandy hillside vineyard.

The 2022 vintage will be remembered as producing a high quality harvest despite the challenges faced. The winter months were dry and provided meagre water reserves, this was exacerbated by the hot and dry summer that followed. Despite providing challenges, the silver lining of these conditions was the lack of disease pressure to the vines. Rain finally arrived in August and provided much needed relief to the vines and enabled great balance in time for the harvest.

Upon arrival at the winery, the grapes were gently pressed with fermentation taking place in temperature-controlled resin-lined concrete tanks for 10 weeks. A small portion of the Fiano grapes were dried until the end of October, after which they were pressed and blended into the wine at the very end of fermentation.