Di Filippo Farandola Trebbiano Spoletino 2024
£18.45
The wine
A richly textured, fruity white with refreshing citrus notes complemented by mineral nuances and a touch of quince. Smooth and creamy, with a lovely balancing vibrancy on the finish. Trebbiano Spoletino is an Umbrian speciality worth knowing.
Trebbiano Spoletino is unrelated to ordinary Trebbiano despite the name, and it is a far more interesting grape: high in acidity, structured, and capable of real ageing. It grows around Spoleto and was nearly abandoned before recent revival. Farandola is the wine's name, after a traditional dance.
The producer
Di Filippo
View all Di Filippo winesDi Filippo farm at Cannara in Umbria, between Assisi and Montefalco, and have been organic since 1994 and biodynamic since 2009. The family have grown grapes here since the 1930s.
The estate is best known for two things beyond the wine. Geese are kept among the vines to control weeds and insects, and a flock of sheep grazes the rows through winter, which removes the need for herbicides and much of the need for machinery. It sounds like a gimmick and is not: the practice is old, and the reduction in soil compaction is measurable.
Umbria is landlocked, green and hilly, and its grapes are its own. Grechetto is the region's principal white and gives a nutty, structured wine quite unlike Trebbiano; Trebbiano Spoletino, from around Spoleto, is unrelated to ordinary Trebbiano despite the name and is far more interesting, with real acidity and the capacity to age.
