Il Brutto Negroamaro Primitivo 2019

If you’re a fan of the sort of reds you can only get from ancient, ultra sunny vineyards, then chances are you’ll love Il Brutto. So low yielding and unprofitable were these heirloom Negroamaro and Primitivo vines that the growers in Puglia were planning to rip them out. The fruit flavour, however, is amazing, so Tony Laithwaite stepped in and offered to make it worth their while to carry on tending them. He also engaged his old friend Angelo Maci from the nearby award-winning Cantine Due Palme winery to turn the grapes into a magnificent red. The vines’ twisted trunks may be ugly (‘brutto’) to outsiders, but they’re things of beauty to those in the know. Serve this treasured red with hearty dishes such as casseroled lamb shanks or lasagne.