Tagaro, Pinataro Negroamaro, 2024

Grapes

Negroamaro

Vintage report

The 2024 growing season across Puglia brought the kind of climatic whiplash that is becoming an increasingly familiar challenge for growers across southern Italy. A relatively cool, wetter-than-average spring gave way to a fierce summer with prolonged heat, putting pressure on viticulturalists to manage canopies and water stress carefully. Those who got their timing right — picking before the heat stripped freshness from the fruit — came out well. Those who pushed their luck less so. It was, in other words, a vintage that rewarded attentiveness over passivity.

The results are encouraging rather than uniform. Primitivo shows real depth and concentration without tipping into the jammy excess that warmer years can produce, while Negroamaro has held onto the savoury grip and dark-fruited intensity that makes it so compelling. Whites and rosés from Verdeca and Fiano look fresh and should be drunk sooner rather than later. The reds have the structure to evolve, though most are already approachable now and we'd expect them to drink well until 2028 to 2030 at their peak.