JACOPO STIGLIANO
Lauv NV [1.5 L]
Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Lauv means wolf in Bologna’s dialect, and there are plenty roaming the vineyards near here. This is a field blend of seven red varieties from a parcel of hundred year old vines, planted on hills of clay and limestone some two to three hundred metres above sea level. Three vintages were combined together due to the achingly low yields across each. Borrowing a technique that has been used since Roman times, Jacopo blended his young wine with older vintages in search of something greater than the sum of its parts. In this case, the 2022 vintage was fermented on the skins for a fortnight, pressed and added to a large concrete tank that contained the 2021 and 2020 vintages in order to bring to those wines a little more freshness, brightness and verve. A striking shade of ruby, it is deep and layered and full, with brambly fruit, earth and herbs combining to make a wine very much suited to the robust, regal cooking for which Emilia is so well known.
Barbera, Sangiovese, Negrettino & more
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