AZIENDA VITIVINICOLA I VINI DI EMILIO BULFON Valeriano, Friuli
2013 was one of the great ‘Bulfon’ vintages, on a par with his excellent wines of 2009 and 2006. A little research will uncover a truth though that this trio are not numbered amongst the legendary vintages of Italy’s North East, however this pocket of land between Valeriano and Pinzano has a unique microclimate tempered by sea, mountains and rivers. The whites are complex and floral and the reds balance ripe forest fruit with floral and mineral elements. The only down side is that this is a small yielding vintage so we do not have as much as usual, please don’t wait too long to claim your allocation. The estate is a part of the Friuli’s rich heritage, the vines responsible for Snr. Bulfon’s wines have an ancient history. Many unusually named vines share DNA with a more famous cousin, here this is not the case: the vines are mostly named after the local villages where they were once popular and their demise has had more to do with the re-organisation of local agriculture than with their vineous qualities. Snr. Bulfon’s inquisitive character is responsible for the resurgence of interest in the wines from these hills above the ‘Grave’ region. Sadly, there is no DOC for this part of the Friuli and not all the varieties are even included in the official list of recommended varieties, so ironically whilst Emilio Bulfon has received the sincerest thanks and the highest awards from the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, the wines retain the humble classification of ‘Vino da Tavola’ (table wine). For us, this is probably a good thing as it makes his wines staggeringly good value! It is a tiny estate, in a good year the total output may top 60,000 bottles, just a few thousand of each wine. Bulfon website
Bat and Bottle, 18D Oakham Enterprise Park, Oakham. LE15 7TU 01572 759735 – post@batwine.co.uk