IlBioselvatico
Filippo Volpi
Tuscany – Arezzo
Filippo Volpi is exactly the kind of producer–and person– that we had hoped to represent at Loci: grounded in history yet un-anachronistic, rigorous in their work but conceptually adventurous, and with an undeniable passion for the table. Proof that the world of wine is a small one: scores of producers and friends in Italy, upon hearing that we would meet, first expressed their excitement; second, they asked if Filippo, a restaurant chef by training, would be cooking.
Working less than 5ha of vines on the farm where his family has lived for generations, he has allied his prodigious experience in restaurants with a staunch belief in a holistic ecosystem for viticulture and winemaking.
Filippo Volpi in the vines, June 2023
The vines, entirely Sangiovese, are circled by substantial forest and olive groves (the family’s original birthright), and lie in two essentially contiguous plots, separated only by a dirt road leading to the family home. With a deep adoration for Burgundy, Filippo has taken agricultural and viticultural cues from some of the greats of the Cote d’Or. In the field, there is no hedging of vines, only copper-sulfur and natural teas are used, and harvest takes place in over a dozen passes in order to give a deep sense of place and time.
Cellar work is rudimentary, 100% whole-cluster fermentation of foot-trod grapes, fermented in cement and aged in a combination of cement and weathered 500L barrels. The result is a wine with vitality and spirit that far exceeds any analogy. Note Filippo’s magnums are not just large- formats; they are from his best-tasting casks, aged for an additional year in concrete.
