Fact Sheet

[VIL-LA MA-TEAL-DAY]

Location: Villa Matilde in Cellole, Rocca dei Leoni in Benevento, Tenuta Altavilla in Avellino, Campania, Italy.

Over 3000 years ago, on the mineral-rich slopes near Mount Massico and the volcano of Roccamonfina, Greek settlers reinvented viticulture, adjusting cultivation methods to the climate and soil of their adoptive home. Where vine shoots had originally lain directly on the ground, it was in northwestern Campania they were first supported by wooden poles (falanga) above the soil.

In the 1950s and early ’60s, a successful lawyer named Francesco Paolo Avallone set out on a unique mission: bringing this favorite of emperors back to life. In cooperation with the University of Naples, his research team found the best surviving vines and patiently grafted cuttings onto new rootstock. Decades of inspired and dedicated work ultimately bore splendid fruit: 20 original clones of Aglianico, Piedirosso (both red) and Falanghina (white), trademarked at Rauscedo as Villa Matilde. Since the estate’s first official vintage in 1976, these exclusive Villa Matilde clones have become the red Falerno del Massico and its white brethren, direct descendants of those celebrated by Virgil and Horace. All wines – including the Camarato and Caracci crus and a blend of native red varieties under the Roccamonfina IGT – are nurtured by the unique microclimate and soil of Villa Matilde: volcanic, mineral-rich hills facing the Mediterranean sun and the sea, sheltered on three sides by the Massico mountain range. The main property’s 250 acres (173 under vine) are divided into two farmsteads: Tenuta di San Castrese and Tenuta di Parco Nuovo, closer to the coast. San Castrese is a composition of lapilli, lava stone, piroclastic material, ash, and a particular, friable rock. Parco Nuovo, on the other hand, has coastal soil which is mainly sandy, rich in iron silicates, potassium and phosphorus, and is best suited to the white Falanghina and other native grapes destined for future production. In addition to the vineyards in Cellole, there are properties in the Benevento and Avellino districts that have expanded the range of wines. The range, which covers no less than 95% of the appellation’s entire production of Falerno del Massico, is styled by Riccardo Cotarella with the founder’s son and daughter, Salvatore “Tani” and Maria Ida Avallone.