96 PTS
Cosimo Taurino is the historical standard-bearer for traditional Negroamaro, and this wine shows why.
With over a decade of age, this wine has completely shed any primary baby fat. The nose doesn't try to wow you with cheap, sweet plum; instead, it is a profound, brooding dive into roasted earth, dried tobacco leaf, black olive tapenade, and that unmistakably savory, sun-baked Mediterranean scrub. Beneath that lies a "crunchy," dried sour cherry and blood orange core that feels so unique.
On the palate, it vibrates. You would expect a wine from the deep south with this much age to feel heavy or tired, but it absolutely refuses to be fat. It drives forward with a tense, vertical spine of acidity and the signature, mouthwatering bitterness that literally gives Negroamaro its name. The tannins are traditional, dusty, and firmly integrated.
Finding a perfectly cellared, traditional benchmark like this—with over ten years of age—is almost impossible in today's market.
— Orazio Campoli, May 2026
About the ProducerCosimo Taurino is a legendary name in Puglia, the estate most responsible for bringing the wines of Salento to international attention. Founded in the 1970s in Guagnano, it was guided by the visionary Cosimo Taurino and the celebrated oenologist Severino Garofano, a partnership that produced some of southern Italy’s most iconic bottles. Now run by Cosimo’s son Francesco, the estate continues that pioneering legacy.
Patriglione and Notarpanaro, made from Negroamaro with a touch of Malvasia Nera, stunned critics used to dismissing Puglian wine as bulk blending material. They were structured, complex and age-worthy, proof that the sun-baked heel of Italy could make reds of real distinction.
Taurino remains the standard-bearer for traditional Negroamaro, as the 2013 Salice Salentino Riserva shows. With more than a decade of age, it offers roasted earth, dried tobacco, black olive tapenade and Mediterranean scrub over a core of dried sour cherry and blood orange. Far from tired, it drives forward with a tense spine of acidity, the grape’s signature bitterness and dusty, integrated tannins.
