IACOPO PAOLUCCI

UMBRIA

photograph of the Iacopo Paolucci cantina and view

photo of wine grapes ready to be harvested

photo of a rose wine in a glass at sunset in an Italian vineyard

In February of 2024 Kelsey and I were enjoying a stay at the incredible La Segreta farmhouse with the kids and we stumbled upon an up and coming producer who we just had to bring on. La Segreta is just below the adorable hilltop town of Collazzone where there is a lovely pizzeria with a killer wine list. I spotted a bottle of Iacopo’s wine (how can you not, his labels are stunning) and grabbed it with my to go pizza.

It was his Grechetto di Todi which to this day is probably the most complex expression of this grape that I’ve ever tried. Hence why I bought it! Speaking to Lorenzo and Eileen the next morning at Segreta it turns out they know Iacopo well and they strongly encouraged me to go visit him. So a few days later we piled the kids in the car and headed towards Todi. We travelled the crazy windy road that is Via Roscialesco and that leads you up to Iacopo’s farm and seemingly nowhere else. On the ride up you enjoy stunning views back to Todi and you can marvel in the idyllic Umbrian countryside in this valley.

We landed at a very modest, tiny winery with a picnic table and a grill out front: a perfect tasting room for a crisp February day. Several cats were running about and my son Luca entertained himself by chasing them which makes any Italian nervous as they see a toddler running with reckless abandonment around a winery. “He’ll be fine,” I told him.

Iacopo began to recount how he got here which was via Spoleto, his hometown and eventually to enology school. He grew up the son of two parents who had nothing at all to do with wine but for whatever reason he had always been interested in getting his hands dirty and living off of the land. Maybe it was the memories of a few wines he made with his grandfather as a little on that did it. Regardless, to complete his enology studies he found himself doing a stage at Antinori. He admittedly learned a lot but clearly he was inspired to do his own thing, be able to make his own choices and perhaps not follow a recipe book like you do working at a big winery. That was his alternate future path. Until, he found this incredible site up on Via Roscialesco. He describes the feeling as love at first site and from there his winery was born. He planted 5 hectares of vines in 2008 and inherited a few tiny parcels and off he went.

wood barrel of freshly picked fermenting wine grapes

photo of a cat in the Iacopo Paolucci cantina

The site is beyond picturesque with breathtaking views and a feeling like you have climbed quite high. The vines face North and are protected by some dense woods at the top of the hill. Above the vineyards is a tiny village with an abandoned castle.

photo of the Iacopo Paolucci vineyard with a stunning Umbrian valley view in the distance

Soils here are a mix of clay with volcanic origins if you dig down a couple meters. That clearly helps to provide the depth complexity that Iacopo’s wines posess. At this point the vines are 16 years old. His focus is on the native grapes of Umbria including: Grechetto di Todi, Trebbiano Spoletino, Sangiovese and the hyper-local Grero. Grero is an ancient cultivar dating back to Roman times that the local enology school in Todi (one of the best in Italy) is making a huge push to bring back. Iacopo, as well as our friends at Agri Segretum, are really the only two producers who’ve planted the grape. Iacopo, as far as I know is the only producer to make a monovarietal bottling of Grero. It’s a fascinating wine!.

photo of an Umbrian vineyard in Summer

Iacopo is definitely a winemaker who goes by his gut. He really hasn’t been influenced by anyone in particular but his inclination was always to make natural wines, but most importantly territorially expressive wines. He’s a man of few words, humble but confident in his approach. His matter of fact approach is amusing when you first meet him as everything he produces is downright delicious. He seemingly expresses the same disbelief when he agrees saying “I don’t know how the wines are this good either.” But they are. This is in part terroir but in part an approach of not being afraid to let fruit reach the optimal level of ripeness, something I find many natural winemakers miss the mark on. Given that he grows fruit at 500 meters on partially volcanic soils he can get away with fruit hanging on the vine a little longer knowing that there is less risk of losing acidity. That gamble pays off with his wines and helps produce truly remarkable complexity across the board.

vineyard photo with a a sign for Grechetto di Todi grapes in the foreground

wine bottle photograph of Iacopo Paolucci's Iacopone

Iacopone

Varietal : Grechetto 100%

NOTES

This was the wine that drew us to Iacopo. Grechetto should have substance and a glycerol, waxy texture but this wine takes it to a whole new level. This wine has tremendous minerality and salinity and a slight note of petrol. There’s plenty of fruit to bite into including apples and apricots that dance alongside almonds and dried leaves. Incredible persistence has you tasting this wine long after you’ve swallowed. A true gem.

Fatty, complex fish preparations, game birds, carbonara or rich white pasta dishes.

The Grechetto spends two days on skins after harvest in stainless steel tanks.As soon as the fruit rises to the top of the tank he removes it and fermentation begins. This usually lasts 30 days before moving the wine to another tank where it will be on fine lees for 4 months before bottling. He does do weekly battonage in tank.

wine bottle photograph of Iacopo Paolucci's Il Ponziano

Il Ponziano

Varietal : Trebbiano Spoletino 100%

NOTES

Named for the patron Saint of Spoleto, Iacopo’s hometown. This wine is a bit more subtle than the Grechetto (depending on vintage) and is a true battle between freshness and acidity. You won’t stop drinking this wine. The fruit here is more on melon, white peach, coconut oil, acacia.

A great wine if you are eating fish tacos, grilled fish, a smattering of bites. The freshness here will help digest almost any light food you are eating and leave you wanting more.

5 days on skins before the fruit rises to the cap. Natural fermentation in steel. 4 months on lees in tank with weekly battonage.

wine bottle photograph of Iacopo Paolucci Il Dogliasco

Il Dogliasco

Varietal : Viognier 100%

NOTES

Viognier in Umbria? Why not? That was Iacopo’s approach to planting and experimenting with this grape as few others have in this region. He seemed disinterested in Sauvignon on Chardonnay but did want to try his hand at an “outside” grape to see how it behaved in Umbria. Of course this wine is aromatic as you’d expect but it fits in stylistically with his other whites. It has tremendous texture, acidity and freshness. It’s not boring nor does it fall off. It’s a glass you won’t be able to put down. Dogliasco is named for the village where Iacopo’s winery is located: Doglio.

Raw shellfish, aperitivo, foods with a moderate spicy component.

4-5 hours on skins in hopes of extracting the beautiful aromatic profile that is Viognier without going too far over the top. Natural fermentation in . 4 months on lees in tank with weekly battonage.

wine bottle photograph of Iacopo Paolucci Il Roscialesco

Roscialesco

Varietal : Sangiovese 60%, Cabernet Sauvignon 30%, Grero 10%

NOTES

A true Umbrian blend that incorporates the local Grero and Sangiovese with Cabernet. The Cabernet comes from a 30 year old vineyard that Iacopo inherited just down the hill from the winery. This wine is Umbrian to the core with an incredible drinkability that meets notes of leather, cocoa powder and the rusticity we’d expect from this blend.

This is a great Sunday sauce kind of wine, pizza too, grilled meats. Very, very versatile wine.

The three grapes are picked separately. All will ferment in stainless steel before aging in steel as well. No oak involved!

an isolated wine bottle photograph of Nero Iacopone

Nero Iacopone

Varietal : Grero 100%

NOTES

The history of Grero is rich and it’s certain that this wine has been grown in Umbria for 2,000 years. It was re-discovered by a professor from the University of Perugia who found plants over 100 years old just outside of Todi. The grape has recently been added (back) to the national registrar of grapes in Italy and Iacopo is one of the producers leading the charge!

Grero is rustic and sanguine with licorice and tobacco and leather. It’s a wine I could sell pairing well with gamey meats like venison.

This wine ferments and ages in oak (Tonneaux). It will spend 3-4 weeks on skins during fermentation and age upwards of 12 months in barrel before.

an isolated wine bottle photograph of Principale nelle Vigne

Principale Nelle Vigne

Varietal : Sangrantino 100%

NOTES

2021 is his first crack at a monovarietal Sagrantino and we are so thrilled. There is some tension amongst producers in Todi who are not allowed to even write Sagrantino on their labels being outside of Montefalco. It is a shame as it appears this would only help grow the reputation for the grape.

Sagrantino is a wine that requires big flavors. Think Sunday roasts or meatloafs or whatever your fancy. A big wine like this needs heavy, serious meat preparations. Or stinky, intense cheeses.

30% carbonic maceration. Fermentation in stainless steel before going off to age in larger barrel for at least 12 months.

Visit Iacopo Paolucci’s Website

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