Riccardi Reale – Collepazzo Cesanese di Olevano Romano DOC 2024

Born from the passion and love for the land by Lorella Reale and Piero Riccardi, with their first production year in 2013, Cantine Riccardi Reale spans 5 hectares and encompasses the two neighboring towns of Bellegra and Olevano Romano, very close to Rome. Lorella and Piero met while working together in the television industry, but in 2010, they realized their desire to preserve in Bellegra, Piero’s hometown, the aim of safeguarding and continuing the history of one of the area’s typical grape varieties, Cesanese, one of Lazio’s most important and indigenous red wines. The vineyard is cultivated biodynamically, constantly evolving through studies and collaborations with other winemakers, ensuring that chemicals are never used. Instead, they focus on increasing soil fertility (through green manure and biodynamic preparations), convinced that this is the only way to obtain good, healthy, and intact grapes, from which excellent wines can be produced—wines that are not only terroir-driven but also enjoyable, digestible, and obviously good. In Olevano Romano, precisely in the Colle Pazzo area, at 300 meters above sea level, there are two vineyards cultivated with the guyot system of the variety called Cesanese di Affile or Cesanese piccolo. Within each vineyard, two types of soil coexist: one of volcanic nature with a reddish color, and the other composed of white sandstone that emerged during the Cretaceous period. The grapes are harvested separately by zone, and at the end of each aging process, three different types of Cesanese are obtained: two result from the distinction of grapes produced in the respective different soil types, and one that represents the blend of grapes produced on the two types of soil. In the cellar, the same respect shown in the vineyard and to the soil is maintained; the product is manipulated as little as possible, following a simple but effective principle: good, healthy grapes create good wines. Spontaneous fermentation and maceration occur in concrete or steel tanks, while aging takes place in oak and chestnut wood (Olevano was historically famous for producing aging barrels) without any added substances.->Discover all the wines of Riccardi Reale Winery