Cristiano Guttarolo
Miro, 2020

£25.00

Grower: Cristiano Guttarolo
Region: Gioia Del Colle, Puglia, Italy
Grape Varieties: Primitivo, Sangiovese
Viticulture: Uncertified Organic
Size: 75cl bottle

Cristiano Guttarolo is a welcome outlier in the badlands of Puglia. His wines are fronted by freshness, vitality, and vibrancy, the archetypal antithesis to the regions more widely known characteristics of bold, tannic, overly extracted, flabby qualities. As a matter of either luck or circumstance Guttarolo’s vineyards benefit from a modest elevation that has profound affects on the finished wine. At 400m above sea level and in close proximity to the Adriatic, the vines, and subsequently the fruit benefit from both sea breeze and cooling night temperatures.

It’s an idyllic setting for a winery, a traditional stone farmhouse locally known as a masseria fully restored atop the Murge plateau. A vast limestone rich surface area approximately 4000km squared. Soils that lend them selves beautifully to the fresh touch Guttarolo brings. Young lively earthy fruit behind deep minerality. Local varieties of primitivo, verdecca, negramaro, and the rarely seen susumaniello make up the vineyards stable of grapes with organic viticulture and hand harvesting from the outset.

Guttalrolo’s wines are remarkably adept at delivering a different, more modern story to the wines of Puglia. We’re lucky to have him, and some might say the savior of a region dominated by wines more chewy than the fruit leathers dished out to us as children masquerading as ‘treats’. These wines sing with clarity unshackled and fizzing with energy.

It's just very, very good.