Casale della Ioria 'Campo Novo' Cesanese d’Affile 2020

100% Cesanese d’Affile

The Campo Novo is a vibrant yet remarkably complex version of the famous Cesanese grape that comes from the hilly land of Ciociaria in Lazio. The estate’s younger vines (15 years) are harvested and spend about 15 days on the skins in steel fermenting with its own natural pied de cuve and receive punch downs daily. Once the grapes are gently pressed, it continues its ferment (about 3 weeks in total) and then goes through natural ML. The wine is racked once and remains on fine lees for about one year before being bottled. The resulting wine is built to express the youthful side of the grape and has a wildly exuberant nose of tiny garden strawberries, wild blackberries, violets, fresh tar, and fresh berry cobbler. In the mouth, brambly fruit hits up front (blackberry, sour cherry, tiny blueberries, juicy plums) but goes straight into loads of amaro spices (juniper, thyme, mountain pine) to compliment the grippy tannins while staying very fresh on its feet.

Casale della Ioria is a renowned winery, considered to be the most influential in the 1000-year-old region of Ciociaria in Lazio, Italy. They are the undisputed kings of the Cesanese del Piglio area, and their success is generations deep, with a start in 1921. Paolo Perinelli took over the winery in 1982 and is responsible for the esteemed DOCG status that the area now enjoys. The property is located in the commune of Acuto, sitting atop a hill overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west, at an altitude of about 400 meters. The estate is a stunningly beautiful property of forests, olive trees, and vines, and is dedicated to organic farming. The land is kept as natural as possible, with animals allowed to graze and roam freely, and biodiversity encouraged to create a unique ecosystem. The acidic clay soils of the estate range in color like an earth rainbow, from bright yellow browns to deep chocolate hues and vibrant reds, imparting unique influences to the grapes that grow. Although they specialize in Cesanese d'Affile, they also cultivate small plantings of the stunning Olivella Nera, the fresh local white grape Passerina, and the complex Bellone.

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