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MASSERIA LI VELI

PUGLIA

MASSERIA LI VELI

PUGLIA



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ABOUT THE WINERY

Puglia has a long agrarian history, thanks to its relatively high proportion of flat or rolling terrain suitable for growing crops. For many centuries, Puglia’s agriculture was dominated by extensive land grants from the ruling nobility. Known as latifundi, these holdings were the equivalent of plantations or haciendas in other countries, often controlled by absentee landowners and worked by local peasants and sharecroppers. Beginning in the 16th century in Puglia, many of these latifundi began to build structures known as masserie. The masseria was sort of a cross between a castle and a farmhouse and was designed to improve the life of the farmworkers. It was typically a large stone building located in or near the fields of the latifundo with room for the managers and many of the farmworkers to sleep and for storage of equipment and harvests. It was also intended to be strong enough to protect the inhabitants from raids by pirates, bandits, and marauding soldiers. 

The latifundi began to be broken up during the period of Napoleonic rule in Italy at the end of the 1700s and early 1800s, and the essentially feudal system that they represented was outlawed in 1950. By that time, most of the masserias had fallen into disrepair. One such ruin was Masseria Li Veli, located near the center of the Salento Peninsula in southern Puglia, on the southern slopes of the Murgia plateau. Many masserias have been reconstructed as residences or agritourism accommodations beginning in the 1970s, but this particular one was rebuilt much earlier for a different purpose. 

The crumbling Masseria Li Veli was acquired in the late 19th century by Marchese Antonio de Viti de Marco (1858–1943), an important economist and professor who was influential in the theory of public finance in the Kingdom of Italy. In 1895, the masseria was restored to serve as a model wine cellar, demonstrating an ambitious concept for economic development for all of southern Italy. It stayed in operation until the 1950s. 

The masseria is once again functioning as an important winemaking facility, having been renovated and modernized into an up-to-date production center for the Li Veli wines. The Falvo family, former owners of the Avignonesi winery in Tuscany but with Puglian roots, purchased the masseria and its 128 acres of land in 1999 and breathed new life into de Viti de Marco’s project. The vision is to establish a new quality benchmark in the region, through both vineyard management and vinification.

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WINERY LOCATION: Cellino San Marco (Brindisi province), Puglia
REGION: Salice Salentino DOC, IGT Puglia, IGT Salento, IGT Valle d’itria
VINEYARD LAND: 82 acres (33 ha)
FARMING PRACTICES: Sustainable
GRAPE VARIETIES: Negroamaro, Primitivo, Susumaniello, Malvasia Neri di Lecce, Aleatico, Cabernet Sauvignon, Verdeca and Minutolo
WINE STYLES: Dry red; dry rosato; dry white; sweet dessert
TOTAL WINE PRODUCTION: 350,000 bottles (260,000 liters)
YEAR FOUNDED: 1999
OWNER(S): The Falvo family
WINEMAKER(S): Riccardo Cotarella

WINES

MASSERIA LI VELI "TORREMOSSA" FIANO SALENTO IGT

Fiano is a grape variety typically associated with Campania on the other side of the Apennines from Puglia, but Puglia’s plantings of Fiano have been increasing, and the variety seems well suited to this region. Li Veli makes this Fiano as one of its two white-wine offerings.

MASSERIA LI VELI “TORREROSE” PRIMITIVO ROSATO SALENTO IGT

Masseria Li Veli Torrerose Primitvo Rosato is the second wine in the Torrerose line. This wine is made from Primitivo grapes, a grape that got a boost in recognition when it was found to be a forerunner to Zinfandel. Primitivo is widely planted throughout Puglia and is well-suited to making a Rosè wine.  

MASSERIA LI VELI “ORION” PRIMITIVO SALENTO IGT

While Masseria Li Veli focuses much of its attention on Negroamaro, Orion is dedicated to the other important grape variety of the Salento Peninsula: Primitivo. The Italian alter ego of Croatia’s Tribidrag and California’s Zinfandel, Primitivo has been grown in Puglia for centuries and is gaining newfound recognition in Italy. The wine’s name, Orion, is not related to the constellation, but rather to an ancient wall. Orion means “limit” or “boundary” in Greek, and a wall that once served as the boundary of Salento when this was a Greek colony is today a country road that runs alongside Li Veli’s Primitivo vineyard.

MASSERIA LI VELI “PRIMONERO” NEGROAMARO SALENTO IGT

Salento peninsula has always been a great wine producing area of Italy and a land of crossing cultures. Primonero was born from the heart of this land with its most representative grape: Negroamaro, whose name emphasizes the dark colour of its fruit: niger from the Latin “black” and amauros from the Greek “dark”. In memory of Greeks and Romans, the two main cultures dominating and crossing each other in this region.

MASSERIA LI VELI “PASSAMANTE” SALICE SALENTINO DOC

Passamante is Masseria Li Veli’s entry Salice Salentino, the Negroamaro-based wine that defines the Salento Peninsula. Though no oak aging is required for non-riserva Salice Salentino wines, Li Veli gives Passamante 6 months in barriques to round out the wine and introduce additional complexity. Passamante is the name of the wooded area next to the vineyard.

MASSERIA LI VELI “ASKOS” VERDECA SALENTO IGT

Masseria Li Veli features little-known native grape varieties of Puglia in its Askos line. Verdeca is the white entry in this line. Not much Verdeca is grown in Puglia, and almost none outside the region, so it’s exciting to see a varietal Verdeca wine like this one from Li Veli. Askos is a Greek word for a type of wine container, harkening back to the pre-Roman days when the Ancient Greeks colonized Puglia and produced wine here—perhaps from Verdeca.

MASSERIA LI VELI “ASKOS” SUSUMANIELLO ROSATO SALENTO IGT

Masseria Li Veli features little-known native grape varieties of Puglia in its Askos line. With just 125 acres (50 ha) in all of Italy, Susumaniello certainly fits in that category. Li Veli’s varietal Susumaniellos are a rare opportunity to taste this ancient grape variety that is just starting to garner attention. This wine is a pink version, essentially a white wine made with red Susumaniello grapes.

MASSERIA LI VELI “ASKOS” SUSUMANIELLO SALENTO IGT

Masseria Li Veli features little-known native grape varieties of Puglia in its Askos line. With just 125 acres (50 ha) in all of Italy, Susumaniello certainly fits in that category. Li Veli’s varietal Susumaniellos are a rare opportunity to taste this ancient grape variety that is just starting to garner attention.

MASSERIA LI VELI “ASKOS” PRIMITIVO SALENTO IGT

Li Veli features native grape varieties of Puglia in its Askos line. Primitivo is now well known, but it remains in the shadow of Negroamaro and several other Italian grape varieties, so Li Veli includes it in this project.

MASSERIA LI VELI “PEZZO MORGANA” SALICE SALENTINO RISERVA DOC

Masseria Li Veli Pezzo Morgana is a single-vineyard Negroamaro from the Salice Salentino denomination. The vineyard is planted using the ancient Settonce system based on hexagonal distribution rather than rows. It is bordered by olive trees and dry-stone walls. The Pezzo Morgana is a Riserva produced from a careful selection from the vineyard. 

MASSERIA LI VELI “MLV” SALENTO IGT

Masseria Li Veli's “MLV” is their top label wine and is dedicated to the noble founder of the original Masseria - the Marchese Antonio De Viti De Marco (1858-1943). With the 2020 vintage the wine combines two high-end Salento Primitivo vineyards from on the estate into one wine, creating our ideal expression of Salento Primitivo.  Fruit from the Montecoco vineyard, just south of the winery and Primitivo and Cabernet from the Veli vineyard – the oldest of the estate.  The wine is fermented in 50L oak cask, with malolactic carried out in barrique.

LOCATION


WINERY:
Cellino San Marco (Brindisi province), Puglia

VINEYARD:
Salento peninsula, Puglia

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NEWS AND REVIEWS FROM OUR FRIENDS IN THE INDUSTRY



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91
AUGUST 2022
Masseria Li Veli “Orion” Primitivo Salento IGT 2020

A delicious primitivo with light jam, orange peel and plum compote aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied with light tannins and a flavorful finish. Nicely done. Drink now.

NOVEMBER 2022
Masseria Li Veli “Askos” Verdeca Salento IGT 2021
90
JUNE 2021
Masseria Li Veli “Torrerose” Negroamaro Rosato Salento IGT 2020

The 2020 Rosato Negroamaro Primerose lifts up with a delightfully spicy and perfumed bouquet. Rich textural depths are nicely offset by a mix of brisk acids, young strawberry fruits and chalky mineral tones. Inner rose blends with peach herbal tea as the Primerose finishes with refreshing persistence. If you’ve never experienced a Negroamaro Rose, this would be a great place to start.

SEPTEMBER 2024
Masseria Li Veli “Askos” Susumaniello Salento IGT 2022

There’s a good deal of complexity in this wine from the relatively obscure Susumaniello grape. Aged in French oak barrels, it offers brambly dark berry and garrigue herb aromas. On the palate, the fruit is accented by hints of semi-sweet chocolate, espresso, and cinnamon. The vines grow in clay, sand, calcareous soils and the wine has a textured minerality.

87
NOVEMBER 2022
Masseria Li Veli “Primonero” Negroamaro Salento IGT 2021

Light-bodied and lively, this easy­ drinking, snappy red offers flavors of wild cherry, sage and spice box. Drink now. 4,000 cases made, 1,000 cases imported.

91
DECEMBER 2023
Masseria Li Veli “Askos” Susumaniello Salento IGT 2021

Dark and juicy, with an aromatic overtone of fragrant herb, this shows flavors blackberry compote with hints of eucalyptus and anise hyssop, mocha and smoke sculpted by fine tannins that firm the focused finish. Drink now through 2029.

90
MAY 2020
Masseria Li Veli “Torrerose” Negroamaro Rosato Salento IGT 2019

The 2019 Masseria Li Veli Primerose is spicy and smoky from the start, giving way to savory herbs, crushed stone, and notes of ripe pear. On the palate, soft textures are contrasted by saturating minerals and juicy acids, as this seems to hover over the senses, gaining pretty inner florals that last throughout the long and peppery finish. Negroamaro Rosato is always so unique and still an under-the-radar gem from Italy.

90
OCTOBER 2020
Masseria Li Veli “Passamante” Salice Salentino DOC 2018

Spicy and savory on the nose, this red shows loads of thyme, bay leaf and pepper, with ripe dark plum riding behind. The palate is smooth and supple, with bright acidity pushing it along, yet all the while succulent flavors of dark plum and berry fruit never skip a beat. Herbs and spice play second fiddle to the fruit on the palate but lend nice grip alongside firm yet polished tannins.