Just outside the village of Gioia del Colle in Puglia, Cristiano Guttarolo farms a masseria where seven hectares of vines and old olive trees sit some 400 meters above sea level on the rugged Murge plateau. It is an unlikely place to find delicacy, yet that is exactly what his wines deliver.
The Region
The high karst limestone of the Murge, a strong breeze off the Adriatic, and cool evenings give Guttarolo's site conditions rarely associated with the hot south. The limestone lends a luminous, savory minerality, and the climate lets his Primitivo and Negroamaro keep a lightness so often missing from this part of Italy.
Vineyards & Farming
Founded in 2004, the estate is certified organic by Ecocert. Guttarolo takes a hands-off approach in the vineyard, working without chemicals and letting wild herbs and flowers grow for much of the year, so the farm teems with life. Having experimented with biodynamics, he has stepped back from some of those practices, finding the soil here is often best left alone.
Winemaking
Fermentation is spontaneous with indigenous yeasts. The wines macerate on their skins for 14 to 18 days, and, apart from the amphora wine, malolactic fermentation happens spontaneously in spring. The amphora Primitivo comes from a small 0.6-hectare plot and ferments in 500-liter clay amphorae from Umbria, which are then sealed with a clay lid set in beeswax for about a year.
The Wines
The range spans amphora and tank Primitivo, Negroamaro, a fresh rosato, and white cuvees, all marked by the savory minerality the limestone imparts and a purity rarely associated with Puglia's signature grapes.
