Fatalone

Gioia delle Colle, Puglia, Italy

“Who loves and respects nature, loves God and himself”  - Pasquale Petrera

Azienda Agricola Petrera Pasquale (Fatalone) has been making wine in the Gioia del Colle region since the late 1800’s.  Like many producers in the area, bottling wine came late; most wines were sold in sfuzo, where locals would bring jugs and fill up from the tank. It was only in 1987 that the first bottles of ‘Fatalone’ were produced.  A winery with intense dedication to the earth, their certified organic farming practices prove to make exceptional Primitivo Gioia del Colle in three different styles, and one bianco made from the local Greco. Their belief in organic principles and renewables extends to the winery where only solar power is used to power the entire production. Fatalone is a zero emission winery.  Stainless steel is used for primary fermentation in all of the wines, and when oak is used, it is always large, old Slavonian oak.  Sulphur is not used during vinification, and only a minimum but stabilizing amount is used at bottling, leading to a remarkably purity of fruit.

Our Selections

Fatalone Greco Bianco Spinomarino 2014

The Spinomarino is the only white wine from Fatalone and comes from just one half hectare of 25 year old Greco vines planted to karstic clay/limestone soils. The grapes come into the cellar and go into the press but stay as whole clusters for about 8 hours until pressed.  The wine then undergoes natural fermentation but, due to the low pH in the soils, does not go through malolactic fermentation.  The result is a beautifully textured wine with scents and flavors of flowers, green apple, exotic fruits, and honey with a pronounced minerality that lingers on the finish.

Fatalone Teres Primitivo 2017

Fatalone’s 2016 Teres Primitivo is a unique and delicious light red wine that pays homage to the Petrera family’s ancestors and their winemaking practices.  The wine comes from only the free-run must of the Racemi, which is the juice of the second budding fruit of the Gioia del Colle Primitivo plant (yielding only 1.8kgs/hectare), which has less of a full-body character, a more delicate palate, and a lovely sweet and floral smell. The whole berries only spent 36 hours on the skins, continued natural fermentation, and then had 6 months of aging. Teres is a fresh, mineral driven light red wine full of strawberry, cranberry, raspberry and red currant notes.

Fatalone Primitivo Gioia del Colle 2015

100% Primitivo from the Murge hills within the Gioia dell Colle. The rocky, marine vineyards, planted in 1990, are fully organic with no irrigation and rich in fossils. The must is fermented on the skins in stainless steel for eight to nine days using only native yeasts. After six months, the wine is racked to large Slavonic oak tanks then bottled without filtration where it is allowed to rest another six months before release. Despite the 15% alcohol, this is a beautiful example of balanced Primitivo with a freshness that belies the stereotype of burly Primitivo.