A PORTRAIT OF THE WINERY

After years of important jobs in everything from international banking to the energy industry, Luciano Cesarini, an engineer by training but one who has always been drawn to agriculture, decided to establish a winery. After much research in and about the area, or Signæ, of the ancient Via Flaminia which features soil dating from the Miocene era to today, he fell in love with a plot of land near the “Caupona del Bastardo” in an area where, legend has it, there was once an innkeeper who served a “sweet and perfumed wine” to the people that came to visit him from Rome. Proof of the truly ancient presence of vineyards – exactly here on this hill – can be found in the urban registries dating to 1312 and those from Gregorian days in the 1800s. With his brother Giuseppe and his wife Fiorella Sartori by his side, the decision to buy the land was easy. His winery is a perfect blend of modern technology and tradition, a unique and personal cantina that has attracted the attention of experts from all over the world. The winery’s founder can also be credited with various successful cultural events involving his Rossobastardo wine.

THE VINEYARD AND TERROIR

Thirty hectares of vineyards sit on hilltops dotted with castles, arty villages and thousand year old churches that make for a truly unique landscape. The earth here is made up of ancient lake deposits and lithological variations in limited spaces which give the wines their complex and multi-faceted aroma.

THE GRAPE VARIETIES GROWN

Sangiovese, merlot, cabernet sauvignon and sagrantino, guarantee the tradition of the district.

WINES

Their Sémele is a montefalco Sagrantino PaSSito that goes against the tenets of tradition. It is low in residual sugar and yet has a deep and satisfying flavour. The Secco version of Montefalco has been made with modern technology, like “criomaceration” which keeps the grapes in contact with their skins at low temperatures in order to naturally tame the wine’s sharpness. Their montefalco roSSo riServa shows all the potential of the winery, as does the simple roSSo di montefalco. Their most successful white is their grechetto.