You definitely know you are in the deep south of Italy when you poke your nose into the 2017 Primitivo Torcicoda. From a very hot and dry vintage, this wine falls just short of being overtly jammy, and its ripe black fruit appears oversized in this edition. The bouquet shows raisin, prunes and dried blackberries. It ends on a sweet spot with more cherry confit and blackberry marmalade to follow. Try it with some sausage-stuffed peppers or a pasta with eggplant. I suggest drinking this wine within the next few years.

The Antinori family's Tormaresca estate offers some great values from Puglia. One of those notable value wines is the 2016 Primitivo Torcicoda, which should be easy to locate with 200,000 bottles released. This Primitivo is focused mostly on black fruit and dried blackberry with lighter shadings of tobacco and toasted nut. With only 10 months in the barrel, those oak characteristics emerge more clearly in terms of mouthfeel than they do on the bouquet. It's perfect for cheese-filled panzerotti.

The 2014 Primitivo Torcicoda is a plump and robust red wine with a dark core of juicy fruit and cherry preserves. This wine does not offer the same complexity or intensity of past editions. The finish is smooth, sweet and heavily driven by super ripe cherry fruit.

The 2013 Primitivo Torcicoda is a great value option that offers an authentic taste of Puglian winemaking. The wine boasts the Antinori family's signature touch with bold layers of spice and dark fruit that contrast each other in seamless fashion. The slightly cooler vintage offers a pretty view onto the Primitivo grape and its aromas of blackberry preserves and spicy tobacco. Smooth tannins and soft consistency make for a fitting close.

The 2012 Primitivo Torcicoda is one of the great value wines of Southern Italy. I remember the excellent 2007 and 2009 vintages of Torcicoda as especially ripe, plush and fruit-forward with an “international” slant. The 2012 expression, on the other hand, is a touch more streamlined and offers more room for varietal expression: Bold cherry and blackberry give the wine a ripe, chewy personality. Ten months of tonneaux adds spice, dark chocolate and cinnamon.