Tenuta Principe Pallavicini works the volcanic hills above Rome from its base at Colonna in the Castelli Romani, the same lands the Pallavicini family has farmed since the 1600s. The estate centres on Frascati DOC and Roma DOC, with vineyards split between Marmorelle's calcareous-clay slopes near Colonna and a coastal vineyard at Tenuta di Cerveteri above the Tyrrhenian. Whites lean on Malvasia Puntinata and Bombino; reds run from Cesanese and Sangiovese to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Syrah, with a Malvasia Puntinata passito called Stillato as the estate's signature.
Lazio
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Private tasting and estate visit at the Marmorelle vineyard above Colonna, in the Fruttaio room next to the vinification cellar and surrounded by the estate's 11-hectare olive grove. Tastings are arranged by appointment through the estate's contact form or by writing to [email protected].
EnquirePrivate tasting and estate visit at the Marmorelle vineyard above Colonna, in the Fruttaio room next to the vinification cellar and surrounded by the estate's 11-hectare olive grove. Tastings are arranged by appointment through the estate's contact form or by writing to [email protected].
EnquireThe Pallavicini family bought the estate at Colonna in 1670 from the Boncompagni, completing a swap of Lazio feudal lands that had passed through the Lodovisi cardinals after Pier Francesco Colonna sold them in 1622 to settle his father's debts. The Pallavicini-Rospigliosi holdings reached around 1,600 hectares at their peak. After the First World War most of the agricultural land was expropriated and parcelled to roughly 700 farmers; what remained became the working core of the modern wine estate, anchored on around 89 hectares inside the Frascati DOC zone.
Marmorelle, the principal vineyard, sits between 200 and 230 metres on the volcanic spine that runs from the crater of the Lazio volcano towards Rome. The soils are alkaline-potassic, porous, and rich in lapilli; the Aqua Claudia aqueduct still passes underneath, and the Roman basalt quarries that supplied the city's sanpietrini still cut stone next door. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Cesanese, Merlot, and Petit Verdot grow on the higher terraces, with Malvasia Puntinata, Falanghina, Greco, Bombino, and Grechetto on the lower calcareous slopes.
A second estate at Cerveteri, in Pallavicini hands since 1683, sits on Monte Tosto roughly 150 metres above the Tyrrhenian coast. Around 14 hectares of high-density Sangiovese, Merlot, and Syrah were planted on stony, sea-breezed limestone soils to extend the red-wine range beyond the Castelli, with the wines grouped under the Roma DOC umbrella alongside the Castelli reds.
The vinification cellar, French-oak large casks for the reds, and acacia barriques for the passito are at Marmorelle. Sangiovese and Cesanese were first planted there in 1970; Cabernet Sauvignon followed in the early 1990s. Vine density runs from 3,000 to 4,000 stocks per hectare for the whites to 5,000 to 7,000 for the reds, with cordone speronato and guyot training on the more recent plantings.
The white range covers Frascati DOC Poggio Verde and the IGT Lazio Aurora; the reds include the Roma DOC Casa Romana Amarasco, the Cesanese-led Rubillo, and varietal Syrah and Petit Verdot from Marmorelle's higher terraces. The estate's signature bottle is Stillato, a Malvasia Puntinata passito aged sur lie for over a year. After roughly 350 years of pure Pallavicini ownership the family opened the capital to outside partners under the holding name Terre dei Pallavicini, with Sigieri Diaz Pallavicini as managing director.
Editorially verified by ItalianWines.co.uk.
Plate I · LAZIO
Tastings
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