JACOPO STIGLIANO
Buriana 2021 [1.5 L]
Emilia-Romagna, Italy
In the Bolognese dialect, Buriana describes a sort of melting pot or beautiful chaos. The fruit here comes from two gorgeous old parcels hidden in the hills of Valsamoggia, one where the vines are over one hundred years old and another between thirty to sixty years old. They are planted over clay and limestone between two and three hundred metres above sea level. This is made up of over a dozen white grape varieties grown together, harvested together and fermented on the skins for a week, before being pressed to concrete vats for a year of rest. From a warmer vintage, this offers plenty of depth and complexity, with a pleasant density of fruit, neat tannins and complex notes of stone fruits, citrus, minerals and wildflowers. Bottled only in magnum, it unfurls beautifully with air.
Over a dozen white varieties
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
Jacopo farms around three hectares of ancient vineyards in Valsamoggia, a series of hills between Bologna and Modena in Emilia-Romagna.
Originally from Bologna, Jacopo has been fascinated by wine since a young age and after decades travelling the world he returned to Emilia in 2018. Seeking a return to his roots, he set about restoring abandoned old vineyards in the hope of bringing a new energy to the territory and shining a light on the work of the vignaioli of old.
The vines are up to one hundred years of age and grow amongst woods and orchards, occasionally right up in the canopy. Harking back to a tradition of Italian agriculture from another age, they are home to many varieties growing side-by-side, making for a kind of open air library of grapes. Planted on hillsides between two hundred and three hundred metres above sea level, the soils are a mix of clay and limestone and are littered with stones, lending the wines a luminous character.
Jacopo’s work in the vineyards is focused on retaining the incredible diversity that is already there. He does everything by hand and does not work the soil, trying to interfere with these complex ecosystems as little as possible. He believes that diversity brings richness and complexity, with each variety adding harmony to the final blend.
All grapes are harvested, fermented and aged together, paying respect to the Italian tradition of the field blend and in the cantina his work is simple. Believing that wine is made in the vineyard, Jacopo bottles his wines unfiltered, with nothing added at any stage.
Jacopo’s soulful, nourishing wines offer an expression of vineyards that are truly unique.
Photo: Giulia Nutricati