Visiting Alessia Antinori at Fattoria di Orto di Alberico

As readers of my blog know, the Fiorano Rosso Vino da Tavola from Alberico Boncompagni Ludovisi Principe of Venosa may be my favorite wine. I first had the 1961 at restaurant Checchino dal 1887 in Rome in 1983 and I have enjoyed it ever since.

Whenever I am in Rome I try to visit Alessia Antinori at  Fattoria di Fiorano (Fattoria di Orto di Alberico). 

Walking along the the to the Fattoria lined with olive trees.

Recently, I visited with two friends and Alessia explained to them the complicated history of the estate.  The Prince, her late grandfather, began making wine in 1946 and stopped making it around 2,000.

It was said that he had destroyed all of the vines, but this was not true.  When the Principe died in 2005, he left half of the estate to his daughter, Alessia’s mother, Francesca, who is the wife of the renowned winemaker Piero Antinori.  Mrs. Antinori gave her share of the estate to her three daughters.

Alessia lives in Rome and since the winery is only twenty minutes away, just across from the Ciampino Airport, she took over the management of the estate.

The other half of the Boncompagni Ludovisi estate was left to a distant cousin of the Principe. His first release was the 2006 Fiorano Rosso with the original Fiorano label under his own name, Principe Alessandro Jacopo Boncompagni Ludovisi. He also makes a white Fiorano, but is using different grapes than the original.

Alessia said that she has turned part of the property into a country retreat for Romans who want to leave Rome during the warmer months. They can come for lunch or dinner on Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. The guests can go to the vegetable garden and pick the vegetables that they want to eat. They can picnic or eat at the restaurant “L’Orto di Alberico” Alberico’s Vegetable Garden, as we did.

We started with her newest wine.

Lazio Bianco Appia Antica 400 2019 Alberico made from 80% Sémillon and 20% Malvasia. The wine is fermented  and aged in stainless steel. This is an easy drinking wine with hints of citrus fruit, floral notes, touch of orange blossoms and good acidity. 400 Appia Antica is the address of her grandfather’s villa on the estate and the place where her mother was born.

Fried cauliflower with mint mayonnaise

Tortino of cauliflower with farro and spinach

Gnochetti with cauliflower

Boneless pork with dried chard

An agreement had to be reached between the cousins about the rights to the Fiorano name. The result is that Alessia change the name on her labels. She chose Alberico, which is her grandfather’s first name.

Lazio DOC Vino Bianco Alberico 2016 100% Sémillon After a careful manual selection, the best grapes were destemmed and soft pressed. Fermentation in casks and the wine completed its six months of aging in puncheons. The wine was aged in bottle for a minimum of 24 months. This is an exceptional balanced wine with complex aromas of subtle tropical fruit, hints of citrus fruit and a slight touch of vanilla with a very pleasing finish and a long aftertaste. It is a very special wine. Alessia said it is a white wine that will age and I agreed. In fact I told her it was a white wine as good as the Sémillon or the Malvasia di Candia that her grandfather made!

Lazio DOC Vino Rosso Alberico 2015   Alessia said she found on the estate eight vine rows of two red grape varieties, four of Merlot and four of Cabernet, that were planted over half a century ago by her grandfather and farmed organically. These are the vines which produced the legendary Fiorano Rosso.  By propagating these vines, Alessia is able to make wines as her grandfather once did.

After harvesting, the two varieties are separated, the grapes destemmed and the juice fermented in temperature-controlled cement tanks. Alessia said this was to fully bring out their aromas and flavors. After being run off the skins, the wine goes into large oak casks for a minimum of 12 months. She said this is done to assist the full expression of the exceptional character conferred by the old vines of her grandfather, and by the singular volcanic soils created by an ancient lava flow. The wine completed its 24 months of oak aging in puncheon barrels and was then bottled before completing the process with a period of bottle aging, which lasts over two years.

There are about 14 hectares of vines planted on the estate now.  Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sémillon are the vines which come from a “massal” selection (propagated from old vines).

Fiorano Vino Da Tavola 1986 Alberico Boncompagni Ludovisi, Prince of Venosa made from 50 Cabernet and 50% Merlot. The wine has hints of leather, smoke and cherry with a hint of balsamic. This is a very special wine and I am very happy Alessia opened it for us.

Dessert

Selection of cookies

Biscotto with ricotta on top

The soil at the estate is very special, Alessia said, volcanic with mineral salts and excellent for growing anything and grazing sheep.  She said that the shepherds liked to bring their sheep there to graze and the sheep would become fatter and darker in color because of what they ate, and the dust from the soil would stick and make them almost black in color.  Her grandfather grew wheat and was very fanatical about it.  He cultivated a “mother” from the natural yeasts in the area in order to make his own bread.

 Alessia’s grandfather had taken very good care of the land and believed in organic farming. Alessia said she was following in her grandfathers’ footsteps.

Fattoria di Fiorano (Fattoria di Orto di Alberico)

Via di Fioranello 34 – Rome (GRA Ciampino airport exit)

Hours: from Thursday to Saturday, 12.30 – 14.30 | 19.30 – 21 on Sunday, 12.30 – 14.30

Restaurant and picnic reservations: 3408088211 

Drinking Fiorano Rosso with Alessia Antinori

Often people will ask me what is my favorite red wine. This is a difficult question to answer because there are so many that I truly enjoy. However  there is one that comes to mind right away and that is the Fiorano Rosso Vino da Tavola from Alberico Boncompagni Ludovisi Principe of Venosa. I first had the 1961 at Checchino dal 1887 in Rome in 1983. The Prince began making wine in 1945 and stopped making it around 1995. It was said that he had destroyed all of the vines, but this was not true. I was so impressed with the wine that I tried to buy all that I could find.

When the Principe died a few years ago, he left half of the estate to his daughter, who is the renowned winemaker Piero Antinori’s wife.  Mrs. Antinori gave her share of the estate to her three daughters.  Alessia is the daughter who lives in Rome and since the winery is only twenty minutes away, just across from the Ciampino Airport, she took over the management of the Fattoria di Fiorano estate.

The other half of the Boncompagni Ludovisi estate was left to a distant cousin of the Principe. His first release was the 2006 Fiorano Rosso with the original Fiorano label under his own name, Principe Alessandro Jacopo Boncompagni Ludovisi. He also made a white Fiorano, but is using different grapes than the original.

Alessia Antinori on the Estate

An agreement had to be reached between the cousins about the rights to the Fiorano name. The result is that Alessia can use the name Fiorano in Italy for her wines but in the U.S. she had to change the name on the label. She chose the name Alberico, which is her grandfather’s first name, for her US wine. She is also planning to release an entry-level wine in the U.S called Appia Antica 400, which is the address of the winery.

I have visited Fattoria di Fiorano a few times and became friends with Alessia. When Alessia is in the US she has an apartment only a few blocks from where I live. I periodically have what I call “Fiorano dinners” and last week I invited some Fiorano lovers and Alessia over for something different — a Fiorano lunch.

We spoke about her grandfathers’ wine and the wine she is making on her part of the estate.

with Alessia Antinori

Alessia said a few years go she was visiting a neighbor on the property who had worked for her grandfather and noticed in the garden next to his house an uncultivated plot of disorderly vines. She was told that the vines were planted many years before by her grandfather and it was Semillon. This was an opportunity that she could not pass up and she decided to make take care of the vines and produce a wine from the grapes.

Alberico Bianco 2013 100% Sémillon

After a careful manual selection, the best grapes were destemmed and soft pressed. Fermentation in casks and the wine completed its six months of aging in puncheons. The wine was aged in bottle for a minimum of 24 months.

This is an exceptional balanced wine with complex aromas of subtle tropical fruit, hints of citrus fruit and a slight touch of vanilla with a very pleasing finish and a long aftertaste.

It is a very special wine. Alessia said it is a white wine that will age and I agreed. In fact I told her it was a white wine as good as the Sémillon or the Malvasia di Candia that her grandfather made!

As for the Rosso she said she found on the estate eight vine rows, four of Merlot and four of Cabernet that were planted over half a century ago by her grandfather and farmed organically. These are the vines which produced the legendary Fiorano Rosso.

Alberico Rosso 2012 made from 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Once the two varieties had been separated, the grapes were destemmed and fermented in temperature-controlled cement tanks. Alessia said this was to fully bring out their aromas and flavors. After being run off the skins, the wine goes into large oak casks for a minimum of 12 months. She said this is done to assist the full expression of the exceptional character conferred by the old vines of her grandfather Alberico Boncompagni Ludovisi, and by the singular volcanic soils created by an ancient lava flow. The wine completed its 24 months of oak aging in puncheon barrels and was then bottled before completing the process with a period of bottle aging, which lasts over two years.

There are about 14 hectares of vine planted on the estate now: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sémillon are the vines which come from a “massal” selection (propagated from old vines).

Then we had 6 vintages of the Fiorano Rosso produced by her grandfather. The profile of the wines as you taste them is always consistent. They all have leather, smoke and cherry aromas and flavors with a hint of balsamic. They were very complementary to the food that we served. The wines, even the 1971 and 1974, had such high fills that one would think it was a very young wine. I have never tasted one (but I should not say tasted, I drink these wines) that even had a hint of oxidation.

1971 — This wine, now 47 years old, was in perfect condition.

1974 — The 1974 was for me drinking better than the 1971 but there were others that enjoyed the 1974 more- I did not argue the point!

1985 — This wine was just on the edge of becoming ready to drink.

1988 — This needed at least 5 more years.

1990 — This was also too young and needs at least another 8 to 10 years.

1994 — We tasted this wine and it seemed so young that we did not drink it and the person that brought the wine recorked it and said he would try it again in a week.