Podere Castorani, the Wine Hospitality runs fast • Food and Wine Italia

Arriving the Castorani hill, just outside the oratory hamlet of the Pescara municipality of Alanno, the first thing that is striking is the white and majestic profile of an eighteenth -century , currently during the restoration phase: it was a seal of hunting and summer residence, capacity As a dowry from the noble Adelina Ruggeri de ‘Capobianchi to her husband Raffaele Castorani – illustrious surgeon who at Sorbona developed, for the first time, the procedure to operate the cataract -, then passed owned by the Sardinian Antonio Casulli, another prestigious cathedtic who was Professor of international law at the University of Naples, and then also quanto a Tokyo.

Jarno Trulli and Lucio Cavuto, from the slopes to the rows

Behind the Masseria Castorani project there are Jarno Trulli – Procedura 1 pilot between 1997 and 2011, for a long time quanto a the Alain Prost – and Lucio Cavuto. Born quanto a Pescara but from a family originally from Cugnoli the first, proudly of Tollo the second (even if the family has managed for years some vineyards quanto a Molise), their friendship and collaboration were born the Kart tracks, where Jarno started a Running as a very young age, then conquering the slopes of the most prestigious circuits quanto a the world, with Lucio to manage him as . Both determined, but rather far from worldliness, quanto a 1999 they decided to buy this mesi estivi, now abandoned for some time, with its 32 hectares of vineyards, and began to take advantage of the trips around the world, between luxury restaurants and visits to the great cellars, to refine their wine knowledge. Thus was born the project inspired by part of the French châteaux and a concept of terroir which is pragmatic and emotional together, but also authentically Abruzzo.

“We have chosen Masseria Castorani above all for the Vineyard of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo of 18 hectares dating back to 1970, from which we recovered the Marze for the maximum selection by keeping a very precious genetic heritage for us”, says Lucio Cavuto, who today deals with the Marketing of Masseria Castorani but follows the 360 ​​degree project from it very close. «Then, gradually we somehow reconstituted the original farm, acquiring other neighboring vineyards, up to about 100 hectares of vineyards quanto a one . We also kept a part of Trebbiano already present, while some rows have been explained and replaced by a new pecorino system, which quanto a those years began to collect attention. Even some old Malandate vineyards of Montepulciano have been replaced with the new ones and now, after 25 years, we have the results that we hoped with the Montepulciano of the line ».

Hospitality and experiences, even at the table

Consistency, even a little stubborn, is a fundamental trait of the project: aesthetic sensitivity is intimately linked to the affection for its land, which also manifests itself quanto a actions and projects such as ‘Abruzzo quanto a the heart’ – Solidarity initiative that, After the L’Aquila earthquake, he saw the contribution of Masseria Castorani for the recovery of the beautiful fountain of the 99 Cannelle quanto a L’Aquila – and the removal at their own expenses of a large number of pylons of the electricity that defaced the visuale and the vineyards , with interraction of the cables.

And if already the project of the cellar and the Forestry – with a decidedly modern and functional architectural line, and welcoming rooms that at the view of vineyards and mountains alongside a né -trivial cure for the details, starting with the Italian artisan sheet sheets – had been Entrusted to the friend of the Tollese architect Roberto Civitarese, it is always he who is taking care of the careful and laborious recovery and conservative restoration of the . It will become an enchanting accommodation with rooms and swimming pool and will act as an ideal set to weddings already hosted quanto a the summer, with the gastronomic complicity of two signs of the territory of great substance and reliability: the old Mare per mezzo di Roseto degli Abruzzi with the great cuisine of Sea of ​​Gennaro D’Ignazio, the convincing proposal of Campagna de Le Sequoie since 1968 quanto a Carsoli, with the expert guide of Sommo Salvadei.

While those who poiché here for guided visits and tastings – by dwelling, inevitably, also to admire the fireball which Jarno ran its last races, display at the entrance of the spaces dedicated to the tasting – can, the progress, accompany the excellent Company labels with the delicious really Abruzzo dishes prepared by the “cook” Enzo Trulli, Jarno’s father, who has a repertoire of recipes at least as much as anecdotes of the years spent quanto a the tour of Procedura 1, often stealing the scene from his son with the son His sympathy and Joie de Vivre: from exquisite guitar to Teramo, with sauce and meatballs, to the bulk chicken with baked potatoes. And, if you are lucky, quanto a the morning for breakfast you could find the delicious donut donut prepared by Laura, Lucio’s wife.

The wines of Masseria Castorani, between territory and personality

After giving the grapes of the first harvest and then start the transition to organic – and officially start production together with the new millennium, with the 2000 vintage vinified quanto a the nearby Bottiglieria per mezzo di Sbarramento Esimio -, flanked by Oscurità Cavuto quanto a the care of the vineyards e From the oenologist Luca Patricelli, quanto a 2004 Lucio and Jarno decided to create the cellar, right next to the . “There was an agricultural farmhouse without any charm. We decided to throw it mongoloide and dig, creating an underground cellar of about 5 thousand square meters, “says Cavuto. Quanto a the vineyard – medium clayey sedimentary soils that rest a fondamento of sandstone rocks rich quanto a minerality, and with the sea breezes that alternate with mountains -, quanto a addition to Montepulciano, Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet and even Pinot Moro also grow, while between The white berry grapes alongside Trebbiano are Malvasia, Coccocciola, Pecorino and Passerina.

Since 2008, to give substance to the ideas of Lucio and Jarno there is Creatura celeste Molisani, an Abruzzese agronomist and winemaker who has fully married the project by bringing a technical and polydrical, reflective but ready to grasp the challenges. «For me quanto a the glass there are three ingredients: territory, cellar and personality. And the “Castorani style” tries to keep them all three together. Luca Patricelli had an international experience and had made choices outside the choir that we continue largely to respect, starting with the exclusive use of cement for vinification: it is a traditional but incredibly contemporary material and is ideal above all for Montepulciano, Who needs to breathe, “says Molisani, who marries a meticulous approach, made of technology and rigor, to propensity for experimentation.

The vertical of the vintages from 2000 to 2020 of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Doc Masseria Castorani – which has become a reserve since 2006, while the underworld has also reported Casauria: a claim that is very close to Lucio Cavuto and the company, the autorità of the ‘Procedimento for the request of the dedicated DOCG that has now poiché almost at the end -, gives a beautiful photograph of what all this means: with evolution, it shows a common thread given by acidity and flavor, but also finesse. And if the Trebbiano d’Abruzzo DOC COLLINE PESCARESI 2023 is enveloping and lashing together, and the 2022 vintage of the Abruzzo pecorino superior DOC of the same line conquers for complexity and harmony, a few moments must be focused the Jarno labels – quanto a version Red, from Montepulciano, and Bianca presso Trebbiano, Malvasia and Cococciola – and ten winters.

They are the fruit of the passion of Lucio and Jarno for the Amarone and the Bislacca schema (so it seems, until the tasting) of bringing the drying to Abruzzo, working with the University of Tuscia – and with a technology originally used for Cool petrol quanto a Procedura 1 – to an experimental protocol at controlled temperature and humidity. «From 2009 vintage we stopped looking at Amarone and we changed the percentages of wine obtained from the dried grapes, stabilizing 80%. And after the cement there is a passage quanto a medium -sized tonneaux to give light roasts and elegance », explains Molise. However, it remains the result of purity of the best selected grapes, as well as a long wait, the ten winters label: refined for four years quanto a oak barrels and four others quanto a the bottle, is marketed after a decade. The name, however, is not only didactic, but refers to the suggestive, homonymous pellicola by Valerio Mieli. And to the passion of Creatura celeste Molisani for the .