Le Cruste Alberto Longo 2019

Alberto Longo's Le Cruste is a red wine from Puglia made from the native Nero di Troia grape variety grown in the countryside near Lucera. It is an intense and rich wine characterized by good structure and an important tannic texture, which is one of the peculiarities of this interesting variety from northern Apulia. The long ageing, first in wood and then in bottle, gives a complex and deep sip that also denotes considerable ageing potential.

Le Cruste is produced by Apulian winemaker Alberto Longo, who has been bottling wine since 2004. His estate is located in the province of Foggia, near the town of Lucera, an area that has always had a vocation for producing great red wines. In just a few years, the winery has established itself as a firm reference point, thanks to work sustained by great passion and expertise. The vineyards are cultivated on tendentially flat soils of a limestone-clay matrix. Nero di Troia, once used mainly as a blending wine, is now showing great potential, thanks to more careful and delicate vinification, which gives more harmonious and balanced reds. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled steel tanks, with a 20-day maceration period on the skins. The wine matures for 12 months in oak barrels and barriques and finishes ageing with 18 months in the bottle.

Alberto Longo's Le Cruste wine is a red with a typically territorial character, perfect for getting to know the most authentic face of the native Nero di Troia grape variety. In the glass, it is a very intense ruby red colour, with light purplish reflections. On the nose, it releases dense and ripe aromas of blackberry, plum, morello cherry, lightly spicy and woody nuances. The palate is structured, with deep and complex aromas, a very dense tannic texture and a lingering finish.