A PORTRAIT OF THE WINERY

The Castello di Magione sits perched high on a hilltop not far from Lake Trasimeno and belongs to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. It has always been synonymous with vines and wine. The castle’s original function was as a hospitium for pilgrims on their way to Rome along the nearby Francigena road and what we see today is the result of many the changes and expansion projects it has undergone over the centuries. The oldest part houses the Romanesque St. John the Baptist chapel and inside the castle we can still admire two 16th century frescoes from the Pinturicchio school. Various popes and kings have used the castle as a residence over the centuries, and in 1502 a group of noblemen hatched their plot against Cesare Borgia here: the “dieta alla Magione nel Perugino” Machiavelli wrote about in “The Prince”. It is in the basement of this incredible historical context that the aging cellar of several wooden barrels of red wines and Vin Santo is located, while all the other wine-making operations are conducted in a new building located in the heart of the vineyards.

THE VINEYARD AND TERROIR

The estate has 32 hectares of vineyards in the DOC Colli del Trasimeno district and 12 hectares of the Commenda Meniconi Bracceschi, belonging to the Torgiano appellation. The most remarkable feature of these properties is the amazing sharecropping division of the terrain (with clayey earth that benefits from a good amount of fine gravel), authentic crus which are ahead of their time and separately vinified.

THE GRAPE VARIETIES GROWN RETAIL SELLING

Of the white grapes they grown, the largest portion of the vineyard is reserved for their grechetto, but they also grow chardonnay and sauvignon. Among their black grapes are pinot nero, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, sangiovese and gamay del Trasimeno.

WINES
Their Colli del Trasimeno GreChetto, a Monterone cru, is elegant and mineral, one of the finest white wines of its type in the district. Their Colli del Trasimeno morcinaia stands out for its quality. A blend of merlot, cabernet and sangiovese, it is left to age for 12 months in barriques and has an intensely fruity nature with a fine vegetal-balsamic progression. Their other important wine is the Vin sanTo (grechetto and trebbiano). It is a delicious dessert wine made from grapes that have been left to raisinate on trellises in the castle’s attic, after which they are pressed and made into wine which is then aged for three years in small wooden barrels before being bottled.