You will find Paolo Perinelli’s sprawling estate as you travel southeast from Rome and into the foothills of the Appenines. The family-run farm sits at about 1200 ft asl on the outskirts of Acuto, a village in the heart of the Ciociaria, an area famous for its wine and olive oil. Paolo tends the highly-regarded local variety Cesanese d’Affile on a beautiful property called Casale della Ioria, that also produces olives, stone fruit and livestock. For over twenty years he has managed all aspects of his operation.
Perinelli’s approach to winemaking is based on rigorous vineyard management and a low-intervention protocol in the cellar that emphasizes cleanliness and carefully monitored fermentation. His methods reveal a great appreciation for Cesanese’s true varietal character with all labels exhibiting zesty acidity and aromas of cherries and herbs tinged with a slightly acrid smokiness. His use of wood in aging is judicious and includes a variety of barrel sizes and types of oak, very little new.
We carry all three of Paolo’s Cesanese labels:
Campo Novo 2007
$17
Campo Novo is made in a youthful style that highlights the vibrant cherry fruit character that is typical of Cesanese. Paolo selects fruit from his youngest vines and vinifies with a short maceration and ageing entirely in stainless steel.
Cesanese del Piglio is made of grapes harvested from 35-year-old vines. Both Cesanese d’Affile and Cesanese Commune are used. The wine is aged in large Slavonian oak botti for up to 12 months.
Torre del Piano 2007
$42
Torre del Piano is made of grapes rigorously selected from the property’s best and oldest vines. It undergoes a lengthy maceration and fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel and is aged in French barriques, 50% new, for 12 months.
Ciociaria is a politically undefined area between Rome and Naples centering around the province of Frosinone in Lazio. (Vino also carries a digestivo, Amaro Ciociaro from the area.) Its name is derived from “ciocie”, primitive sandals worn by sheep and cattle herders in the Central Appenines. Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni was born in the area, while actor/director Vittorio De Sica and poet/writer/director Pier Paolo Pasolini lived and worked there. Indeed, De Sica’s 1960 movie La Ciociaria adapted from the Alberto Moravia novel of the same name (but released as Two Women in the U.S.), starred Sophia Loren as a widowed Roman shopkeeper trying to protect her teenage daughter during World War II. Loren’s performance earned her an Academy Award, the first time an acting Oscar had been given for a non-English speaking role.
For more information please call 212-725-6516 or email info@vinosite.com.