98 Points, Luca Maroni
One of the Top Primitivos of the Year by the Top Italian Critic
OG Zinfandel
Incredibly Versatile Wine

About the wine

Meet your new best friend from Southern Italy: Zenas.

Year after year, this wine is one of the most popular Southern Italian regional wines offered at BHW. It arrives and before we know it, it's gone. Grab a case while you can.

2020 Bollina Zenas Primitivo Puglia is wowing European critics all over again, and now it's Stateside so you can finally taste it for yourself. Bold but refined on the palate, this delightful ruby-colored red has a heady plummy perfume, a profusion of cherry and spice, and a whisper of herbaceous rosemary softened by vanilla. With 98 points, this wine is one of Luca Maron's "The Best Italian Wines"

La Bollina Winery is one to watch. This impressive Italian estate is creating innovative, fun, amazing value wines. Thanks to its high quality and uniqueness, this winery has quickly become Luca Maroni's darling, who has blessed it with impressive reviews year after year.

La Bollina is located in Serravalle Scrivia AL, Italy. A municipality in the province of Alessandria, about 62 miles southeast of Turin. This historical territory was for centuries the residence of the Marchioness Figari of Genova. A 300-acre winery, surrounded by hills and chestnut forests, is where La Bollina's magnificent wines are born.

Besides having 70 acres of cultivated vineyards, and an excellent and well-equipped cellar, in La Bollina you can find luxury accommodation for guests: An “Art Nouveau” style villa, a modern 4-star hotel, and a 9-hole golf course that expands throughout the vineyards. Bollina winery is completely renovated and has some of the most advanced techniques, systems, and instruments in modern winemaking.

Andrea Bernardini, La Bollina's consultant, is a passionate winemaker who has hit numerous home runs. In 2007, he graduated from Pisa, one of the best schools of enology in Italy. He earned his chops at Poggio Bonelli and Ruffino in Tuscany and trained in South Africa, Romania and Greece. After several years of experience, he is now a flying winemaker blending tradition and modern techniques to obtain high-quality wines with respect to the expression of the different grapes and terroir in which he works. He works hand in hand with Alex to produce these magical wines.

Aging: 6 months in French oak barrels.

Tasting Notes: 100% Primitivo. Deep and Intense, with aromas of plum and cherry, spicy, and subtle notes of rosemary and vanilla. A full-bodied wine, soft and balanced, and easy to drink. The gentle tannins make Zenas the perfect partner for tomato-based dishes like a hearty meat sauce or lasagna, eggplant parmigiana, or chicken cacciatore, and they provide the perfect balance to a spicy sausage pizza. This wine loves blue cheeses (Gorgonzola and figs, perhaps), and dry, firm cheeses like Pecorino and Parmigiano Reggiano.