San Marzano's 'F' is a 100% Negroamaro from three Monte La Conca vineyards in Salento, aged 12 months in French and Caucasian oak. Deep and velvety, ripe with plum, cherry and chocolate, it is a Tre Bicchieri red for red meat, game and aged cheese.
Drinkers on Vivino rate this Salento Negroamaro 4.3 across more than 26,000 ratings, flagging plum, blackberry and a vanilla-and-chocolate oak frame from its 12 months in French and Caucasian barrels.
Very deep purple in the glass, the 'F' opens on ripe plum, blackberry and cherry jam, the black-fruit core that hundreds of Vivino reviewers flag most. Twelve months in French and Caucasian oak layer vanilla, sweet spice and a lift of black pepper over the fruit.
Black cherry
Blackberry
Plum
Leather
Black pepper
Liquorice
Vanilla
ChocolateFull-bodied and warm at 14.5%, it is soft and broadly textured, with fine, polished tannins that carry rather than grip. Fruit from the iron-rich red soils of Monte La Conca stays ripe and generous, framed by the oak-given chocolate and mocha drinkers note as often as the fruit itself.
True to the wine's long, savoury house style, the close lingers with a bittersweet Negroamaro twist under cocoa and dried fig left by the French and Caucasian oak.
A polished, crowd-pleasing Salento red that rates 4.3 from more than 26,000 Vivino ratings and has taken Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri and Luca Maroni's top Italian red award. Drink it with rich food over the next five to ten years; it suits a generous southern style more than a restrained one.
Two UK retailers stock the 2021 and 2022 vintages at about £27 to £29 a bottle, a Tre Bicchieri Negroamaro priced well below DOCG reds of similar oak ageing.
Scored from its Salento IGP fruit, 14.5% body and £28 price band: a generous, food-friendly red that flatters beginners more than it suits an everyday midweek pour.
Bold but balanced, fine-tannined and savoury, it shines with the red meat, game and aged cheese the producer names.
A ripe, soft, generous indigenous-grape red with low astringency and crowd-pleasing fruit, an easy first Negroamaro.
At about £28 for a Tre Bicchieri, Luca Maroni 98-point Negroamaro, strong quality for the price though above entry-level Puglia.
A heavily awarded, gift-ready metal-label bottle that suits dinners and gatherings, short of grand-occasion fine-wine status.
Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our editorial methodology.
A compact view of what the Salento denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.
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Both vintages come from the three Monte La Conca vineyards and see 12 months in oak; the hotter 2022 leans riper and fuller, the 2021 a touch fresher.
A hot, dry 2022 across Puglia produced a riper, fuller 'F' with concentrated black fruit, generous now and through the early 2030s.
A balanced Salento growing season gave a ripe but fresh 'F', its fine tannins built to hold into the late 2020s.
Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.
Cantine San Marzano's 'F' has been named Italy's best red by Luca Maroni at 98 points and won Gambero Rosso's Tre Bicchieri, with James Suckling scoring a recent vintage 90 points.
Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.
Salento is in the IGT tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.
Salento falls within Apulia , covering Apulia.
Fruit comes from three selected estate vineyards on iron-rich red soils at Monte La Conca, hand-picked in small baskets in late September, costing far more than bulk Salento Negroamaro.
Malolactic fermentation and a year maturing in French and Caucasian oak barrels add barrel and cellar cost, and the vanilla and chocolate frame drinkers notice.
Maceration of 18 days on 80% of the mass and 25 days on the rest, using indigenous vineyard yeasts, ties up tanks and labour versus a quick Puglian ferment.
The branded metal-letter label and weighty premium bottle add packaging cost that sits inside the roughly £28 UK shelf price.
Salento's flexible IGP rules carry no mandated ageing or release-tasting tax, holding the price below comparably oaked DOCG reds.
At 14.5% ABV this still wine carries £2.67 UK excise duty plus 20% VAT, together roughly £7.30 of the £28 shelf price before any retailer margin.
Dishes that complement this wine
The producer pours 'F' with savoury first courses, red meats, game and aged cheese; its fine tannins and ripe black fruit back those rich, salty plates.
The 'F' carries fine but substantial tannins and a 14.5% frame that stand up to long-braised red meat. Its ripe black fruit echoes the caramelised, savoury depth of the dish, and the tannin clears rich, gelatinous sauce.
Try with: Braised lamb shoulder · Beef brasato al Negroamaro · Osso buco · Lamb ragù · More pairings →
San Marzano pours 'F' with game, and the match works on aroma: the wine's spice, cherry-jam and earthy leather notes bridge to the gamey, savoury character of wild boar or venison and to oven-baked pasta.
Try with: Wild boar ragù · Venison stew · Pasta al forno · Orecchiette with meat sauce · More pairings →
Tannin and savoury depth cut the fat and salt of aged sheep's and cow's cheeses, a pairing the producer names directly. The wine's sweet oak softens the sharpest, most crystalline aged rinds.
Try with: Aged Pecorino · Caciocavallo Podolico · Provolone piccante · Canestrato Pugliese · More pairings →
Negroamaro means black-and-bitter, and that savoury edge plus the wine's full body matches tomato-rich, baked and meat-sauced southern first courses without being overwhelmed.
Try with: Orecchiette al ragù · Lasagne · Cannelloni · Baked ziti · More pairings →
Ripe fruit and oak char complement charred, fatty grilled meat, while the fine tannin and 14.5% body keep pace with smoke and salt rub.
Try with: Grilled lamb chops · Mixed grill · Sausages · Barbecue ribs · More pairings →
The 14.5% body, oak and tannin overwhelm delicate white fish, raw shellfish and citrus-dressed salads, flattening their freshness and leaving the wine tasting heavy.
Skip with: Sushi · Oysters · Ceviche · Steamed sea bass · Green salad · Pairing guide →
San Marzano gives 'F' a drinking window of roughly five to ten years; the 12-month oak frame and fine tannins let the 2021 and 2022 hold into the late 2020s.
Peak around 2028. Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.
IGP carries no ageing mandate, but 12 months oak, fine tannin and the producer's five-to-ten-year window give moderate cellar potential.
£27.13 is the lowest tracked offer for the current vintage and we have no signal of further discounting.
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Confidence · HighDrawn from what drinkers consistently report on Vivino and Wine-Searcher, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic.
Confidence · MediumFrom the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.
Confidence · HighOur reading of the price, drawn from the disciplinare, public UK duty rates, and typical landed-cost benchmarks. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.
Confidence · MediumStyle guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.
Confidence · MediumIt is 100% Negroamaro, grown in three estate vineyards at Monte La Conca in Salento, Puglia, on iron-rich red soils. The 'F' stands for Feudi di San Marzano, a name central to the winery's history.
Expect deep black fruit, plum, blackberry and cherry jam, layered with vanilla, chocolate and sweet spice from 12 months in French and Caucasian oak. It is full-bodied and soft, with fine tannins and a long, savoury finish.
The producer recommends savoury first courses, red meats, game and aged cheese. Braised lamb, wild boar ragù, baked pasta and aged Pecorino all suit its fine tannin and ripe fruit. Avoid delicate seafood and fresh salads.
San Marzano gives it a drinking window of roughly five to ten years. The 12-month oak frame and fine tannins let the 2021 and 2022 vintages hold and develop into the late 2020s and early 2030s.
Yes. It rates 4.3 on Vivino from more than 26,000 ratings, has won Gambero Rosso's Tre Bicchieri and was named Italy's best red by Luca Maroni at 98 points, with James Suckling scoring a recent vintage 90 points.
UK retailers list the 2021 and 2022 vintages at roughly £27 to £29 a bottle, below many DOCG reds of comparable oak ageing and critical acclaim.
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