Tenute Rubino (Brindisi, Puglia)

When Tommaso Rubino bought the original holdings of Tenute Rubino, his plan was to establish an olive farm (there is plenty of precedent for that in Puglia!) but his son Luigi had other - better - ideas. He wanted to grow vines and, in particular, champion the lesser known but high quality Susumaniello grape. With his wife, Romina, Luigi has overseen the expansion of the family's holdings to the point where they produces a massive 1,000,000 bottles each year. However, most importantly, quality is never compromised. On our first visit to the estate, we tasted through almost every wine produced and found it hard to whittle down the selection to import to a realistic number.

For 20 years, Luigi has been working with oenologist Luca Petrelli, the leading expert on the Susumaniello grape but it is not just the wines from this wonderfully evocative variety the family excels in making. Now they have five estates in the Salento peninsular, the southernmost part of Puglia, including Palombara in the Manduria area where, naturally enough, Primitivo is produced, and Jaddico, the flagship estate just to the north of Brindisi on the Adriatic coast, where fabulous Negroamaro is the backbone of a sumptuous Riserva wine.

The key to the Rubino family wines - for us, at least - is elegance. Every wine has the distinctive personality you would expect from the variety or blend it comprises but, equally, whereas many wines from this hot arid land can be a little flat, every wine here is marked by amazing balance, in particular the acidities, which keep them lively, fresh and, yes, elegant.

 See Rubino