12th February 2007 2003 Cento, IGT Salento, Castel di Salve, Puglia, Italy, £15, Bat & Bottle From the heel of Italy, this red has an air of antiquity, touched by scents of the bazaar and a thousand years of trading across the Mediterranean sea. It's a rich wine, but it's as though all the flavours are dessicated fruit – sultanas, prunes, apricots – it's like an essence squeezed out from whatever liquid remained from a pile of exotic dried fruit. Remarkably there's still room for some fresh fruit to emerge – dark sloes and black plum, softened by rice pudding, cream and a pinch of salt. Part modern, but a lot more ancient, that's Salento. Taken from Oz Clarke's Wine Buying Guide 2007 Printable Tasting Sheet