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San Marzano, Talò Primitivo di Manduria 2017

RedItaly2017

By Daniel Min · Tasted 2020-01-17 · Published 2026-09-19 · Updated 2026-09-19

In one paragraphSan Marzano Talò Primitivo di Manduria 2017 is a 100% Primitivo red from Cantine San Marzano, a growers' cooperative in the Manduria area of Puglia, southern Italy, made under the DOP Primitivo di Manduria rules. Vivino lists alcohol at 14%. The 2017 vintage averages 4.1 from 5,142 Vivino ratings (matching the label-wide average across 40,299 ratings), with one listed critic score — Wine Enthusiast, 95 points, April 2019. The nose leads with an oak group of vanilla, oak and chocolate (1,292 mentions), followed by black fruit like plum and blackberry (895) and red fruit led by cherry (533). Structure: intensity 4.0, sweetness 3.0, and a notably low acidity of 1.9 — richer and rounder than most Primitivo/Zinfandel-style reds covered here, built for easy drinking. Primitivo itself has a dramatic backstory: DNA analysis at UC Davis in 2001 proved it genetically identical to California Zinfandel and to the indigenous Croatian grape Crljenak Kaštelanski. I logged this bottle on 17 January 2020 at 4.0 — my note read "cherry, raspberry, plum, vanilla," adding that it tasted "rich but light, fresh and sweet — not too serious, easy to enjoy." Price: world average pending (Wine-Searcher, US$12 per 750ml ex-tax (Wine-Searcher, Sept 2026)); overseas retail runs US$25–33 depending on vintage (67wine.com, bswliquor.com, Sept 2026).

At a glance

Wine Enthusiast 95 (Apr 2019) — one score on file at Vivino

Market note: Overseas retail runs US$25–33 depending on vintage (67wine.com, bswliquor.com, checked Sept 2026). Talò is one of San Marzano's flagship Primitivo bottlings and stays in fairly steady distribution.

What this wine is

In 1962, nineteen grape growers in the town of Manduria, in Puglia, southern Italy, banded together on a simple belief — there'd be strength in unity. That's how Cantine San Marzano began. Today it has over 1,200 members. The cooperative model turns out to suit Primitivo particularly well: many growers in the Manduria area are over 60, farm small plots, and often have grape-growing as a secondary occupation rather than their main livelihood. San Marzano provides shared agronomic and winemaking support and pools the fruit into consistent, well-made wine. Its flagship bottling, Sessantanni ("sixty years"), showcases vines that old, thanks to exactly this cooperative structure.

Primitivo itself carries a dramatic reversal of a story. For a long time it was assumed to be a purely southern Italian native grape, but it turned out to be genetically identical to Zinfandel, California's signature red. An investigation that began in 1998 — led by UC Davis grapevine geneticist Carole Meredith, working with Ivan Pejić and Edi Maletić at the University of Zagreb — located the indigenous Croatian variety Crljenak Kaštelanski on the Dalmatian coast in September 2000, and in December 2001, DNA analysis confirmed that Crljenak Kaštelanski, Primitivo and Zinfandel are the same grape. Meredith presented the findings publicly in June 2002 at the Conference on American Zinfandel. In other words, the Primitivo in this bottle is the Italian face of a grape that traveled from Croatia to settle in southern Italy, then crossed the Atlantic to earn a completely separate identity in California as "Zinfandel."

What the world says

The 2017 vintage averages 4.1 from 5,142 Vivino ratings — exactly matching the label-wide average across 40,299 ratings. The distribution skews heavily toward 4-star ratings (3,565), with 870 threes and 636 fives. One critic score is on file: Wine Enthusiast, 95 points, April 2019.

The flavor keywords lead with an oak group — vanilla, oak, chocolate — at 1,292 mentions, followed by black fruit like plum and blackberry (895) and red fruit led by cherry (533). Structure: intensity 4.0/5 shows real presence, but acidity sits at just 1.9 — among the lowest of any red covered on this site — with sweetness at 3.0. In short: rich but not sharp, an easy-drinking profile.

"Very nice fruit-forward, smooth zinfandel [sic]. Bold long fruity to dry finish, light spice — easy drinking alone or with flavorful foods." — Vivino review, Oct 2019, 4.5 stars

"Great value for the money — medium-plus body, medium-minus tannins and acidity. Oaky, pretty sweet, with pregnant dark fruit and red fruit notes." — Vivino review, Jan 2020, 4.5 stars

The recommended drinking window is 2019–2027; I drank this in January 2020, near the start of that window.

How I drank it

"Cherry, raspberry, plum, vanilla. Rich but light, fresh and sweet — not too serious, easy to enjoy." 17 January 2020, 4.0 stars. I opened this the day after the party where I'd worked through Graves, Gigondas and Solaia, and the shift in tone is obvious — from heavy, serious Bordeaux and Super Tuscan to an easygoing southern Italian red meant to be enjoyed without ceremony.

My note's "rich but light, fresh" lines up neatly with Vivino's structure data — intensity at 4.0 gives it real presence, but acidity at just 1.9 keeps it from feeling sharp, and sweetness at 3.0 rounds it out. The cherry, raspberry, plum and vanilla I noted also match the community's top flavor groups — oak, black fruit and red fruit. My 4.0 lands almost exactly on the Vivino community average of 4.1, comfortably alongside other 4-star wines on this site.

Where this wine shows up

Artwork and stills are not reproduced for copyright reasons; scenes are summarised.

Vivino community data

2017 vintage rating distribution (5142 ratings, average 4.1)

Most-mentioned aromas

Structure: Acidity 1.9/5 · Intensity 4.0/5 · Tannin 2.3/5 · Sweetness 3.0/5

Average by vintage (all vintages: 40299 ratings, average 4.1)

My original note (Vivino, 2020-01-17)

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Links & sources

View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher

• Vivino — wine page and community data
• Grape Collective — Cantine San Marzano
• UC Davis — Researchers Discover Zinfandel's Hidden Roots
• Vivino Wine News — The origin of Zinfandel and Primitivo
• 67 Wine & Spirits — San Marzano Talò Primitivo di Manduria 2017

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