Azienda Agricola Petrera Pasquale Primitivo Gioia del Colle Fatalone Riserva

I like this; loads of rich fruit, baking spice, tobacco, and some sweetness and salumi, but this also has nice balancing acidity, a sense of structure, and not at all veering to soupiness. Big and powerful with classic Zin bramble, yet a special character bringing seriousness with the hedonism.

Lunch at Dario and Maria's (Dario and Maria's place, North Strathfield) : Ripe plummy fruit with a sour red cherry underpin, vanilla, sweet spice, a little herbaceousness. Juicy, slightly herbaceous savoury notes, a little meatiness joins the sweet plums and sour cherries on the palate, woody, chalky textured tannins persists long and is joined by a touch of star anise and bitterness on the finish. Hmm.

IWS Calabria and Puglia (My place, Kent Street) : From Coravin. Vanilla, coconut from oak, plenty of alcohol prickle, spice, plums, slight raisins, a little black cherry. Juicy medium plus intensity acidity, alcohol is a little intrusive on the palate, the oak as well – fruit loses out a little on this tasting. Time? Hmm

Coravin fun - Italian investigations - Puglia (My place, Kent Street) : From Coravin. Medium minus intensity aromas of plums, sweet spice, a little fruit cake, slight alcohol prickle. With time opens showing a little polished oak, that is integrated into the rich fruit, and a little raisined note to back the Christmas cake impression. Juicy, fleshy, alcoholically warm and quite savoury, tannins are persistent, slightly woody but finely grained...Other than the alcohol this is quite balanced. Okay.