Our journey in search of typical and characteristic products of the Italian territory takes us today to San Severo in Puglia. In this land of transhumance, flat, where fields of wheat alternate with rows of vines and olive trees, heir to the ancient civilization of Daunia, we find true flavors and a winemaking tradition that dates back to ancient times. Here under the San Severo DOC, established in 1968, two grape varieties of significant interest are cultivated: Bombino Bianco and Nero di Troia.
The historic center of San Severo, a baroque town, has a true underground city made up of dozens of hypogean cellars where the wines produced in the area are aged. Walking through the streets, glancing inside the wolf's mouths of the buildings
One gets the impression that every building has its own cellar.
It is in this scenario that we meet the protagonist of this article, who is jokingly, but not too much, referred to as the King of the Black of Troia. We are talking about Leonardo Pallotta, owner and soul of the Pallotta Wineries, a small jewel with 1 hectare of vineyard in two plots in the countryside of San Severo towards the Gargano with a production of about 8000 bottles per year. The lands have been in his family for generations, not only dedicated to wine production but also home to many centuries-old Olive Peranzane trees.
The Peranzana olive was imported from Provence in the 18th century.
The Peranzana olive, a true treasure of Apulian agriculture, was imported from Provence in the 18th century by Raimondo di Sangro, Prince of San Severo and Duke of Torremaggiore. In 2019, the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies recognized its right to bear the title of "Traditional Product" and it is particularly appreciated for its versatility as it has the dual ability to be excellent both as an extra virgin oil olive, for its unique aromatic profile, and for the creation of exquisite table olives in which sea water is used for brining.
Leonardo, who works as an architect, became orphaned at a very young age and inherited several plots of land in the San Severo area because his father and grandfather produced excellent table wine. After numerous hesitations about whether to continue the family business or not, in 2000 Leonardo received an ultimatum to maintain the right to replant the vines on the land left to him by his father and decided to devote himself full-time to wine production, alongside the Bombino, Moscato, and Malvasia di Candia already grown, planting a new vineyard of Nero di Troia. In 2012, he resumed the activity of the winery while keeping his architecture studio in the center of San Severo, where, in the family’s underground cellar, the bottled wine ages and is still without a label.
In 2011, the San Severo DOC was also expanded to include the Nero di Troia grape variety.
Accompanied by the winemaker Cristoforo Pastore, the project for the enhancement of Nero di Troia begins, aiming to highlight all the organoleptic characteristics of the product, for example by changing the organization of the vineyards and moving from pergolas to guyot trellises: the ambitious goal was to transform a blending wine into an elegant, powerful, and high-quality wine that could compete with the best bottles in the world. Also considering the excellent results achieved in the region, in 2011 the DOC San Severo was expanded to include the Nero di Troia grape.
Thus was born the Donna Clelia, a pure Nero di Troia, still pressed with wooden presses, aged in second/third passage French oak barriques for 24/30 months and left to rest for 18/24 months in the bottle. The Donna Clelia is produced both in vintage and reserve versions.
The reserve, available this year is the 2017, is an extraordinary wine with intense aromas where the fruity sweetness of cherry combines with floral notes of geranium and violet, which come together in splendid harmony with spicy hints of aromatic herbs where juniper stands out.
This warm wine, with its 14/15 degrees, features soft, silky tannins and an enviable freshness, which we pair with typical dishes such as:
Sauce-brushed chops, lamb, orecchiette pasta with meatballs
The podolica caciocavallo from Gargano with its intense aroma of milk and hay, the aged pecorino cheeses: a triumph of strong flavors and intense fragrances.
Recently, the Donna Clelia is also produced as a rosé, ideal with Pancotto and Acquasala, two other typical dishes of the Apulian culinary tradition.
