La Visciola
About
Cesanese del Piglio DOCG is located in the province of Frosinone, vineyards are dotted around the foot of a striking rocky outcropping, with olive trees and pine woods in a patchwork around. The village itself is build up onto the side of the large, rocky hills. With total hectares in the Piglio appellation around a whopping 250-300, Piero actually has a notable piece of this special place (at 4ha!). The climate is between continental and Mediterranean, the soils are all red clay. As of the 2021 vintage, the wines are all made in concrete tanks, with most aged for a year before bottling.
It’s simple stuff on the surface, but the very best part of the Macciocca family’s work is the hard-to-believe beauty of the wines. The majority of the Cesanese vineyards are vinified separately, as in crus—they strike one immediately of great single-vineyard Barolo or Brunello, but with none of the gloss, none of the confusion about farming or small oak or extraction, none of the fancy stuff. But the wines are beguilingly perfumed and have a core of pure, dark fruit that unravels slowly; neither are they lacking in acidity or fine tannic structure—here there is purity, freshness, depth and intrigue.
We only receive a small tranche from this tiny domaine each year; this is only our second go-around. We expect the more people come to know the Maccioccas’ work, the harder these will be to obtain. They are Cesanese which make us a bit weepy in the cellar and a bit overcome. It should also be said that the world’s greatest Passerina is hiding out in these hills, too. Grazie mille to Piero and Rosa for letting us bring a small piece of their work to the States: these really are wines that introduce the story of world-class wine for an entire appellation.
Products
Passerina del Frusinate 'Donna Rosa'
Biodynamic. 100% Passerina. This is the exact same wine as ‘Donna Rosa,’ only with a tiny portion separated for refermenting in the spring. Fresh must is added and it’s bottled, allowing bubbles to happen in bottle. 800 btls total.
Cesanese del Piglio 'Vignali'
Biodynamic. 100% Cesanese. A single-vineyard parcel of 60+ year-old Cesanese vines on red clay at 380msl. ‘Vignali’ is always the most perfumed and delicate of the four single-vineyard Cesanese Piero Macciocca produces. Fermented and aged for at least one year in a mix of concrete tanks and neutral barrels. Unfined, unfiltered. 2000 btls total.
Cesanese del Piglio 'Ju Quarto'
Biodynamic. 100% Cesanese. A single-vineyard parcel of 60+ year-old Cesanese vines on red clay at 350msl. ‘Ju Quarto’ is always a powerful expression of the grape, darker-fruited and with a striking similarity to Nebbiolo in Barolo. Takes several hours open to reach its peak. Fermented and aged for at least one year in a mix of concrete tanks and neutral barrels. Unfined, unfiltered. 1500 btls total.
Cesanese del Piglio 'Vicinale'
Biodynamic. 100% Cesanese. A mix of different plots of 45-60 year-old Cesanese all on red clay soils at between 340-400m above sea level. ‘Vicinale’ is the ‘entry-level’ or flagship red wine at La Visciola. It’s the only Cesanese made entirely in stainless steel, with at least a year of aging before bottling. Unfined, unfiltered. 3000 btls total.
Frusinate 'Cupella" Bianco Frizzante
Biodynamic. 100% Passerina. This frizzante version of Passerina del Frusinate is a playful wine that Piero Macciocca bottled mostly for himself, friends, and family. It's Passerina taken from a single vineyard that is predominantly planted to Cesanese; these are old vines of white interspersed and planted next to these more 'serious' parcels of the red variety in the region. Fermentation begins in steel and then is moved to bottle to complete a natural sparkling process. Unfined, unfiltered.
Cesanese del Piglio 'Ju Lattaro'
Biodynamic. 100% Cesanese. A single-vineyard parcel of 60+ year-old Cesanese vines on red clay at 350msl. ‘Ju Quarto’ is always a powerful expression of the grape, darker-fruited and with a striking similarity to Nebbiolo in Barolo. Takes several hours open to reach its peak. Fermented and aged for at least one year in a mix of concrete tanks and neutral barrels. Unfined, unfiltered. 1500 btls total.
Cesanese del Piglio 'Mozzatta'
Biodynamic. 100% Cesanese. A single-vineyard parcel of 75+ year-old Cesanese vines at 350msl. This parcel, ‘Mozzatta,’ is different from all the rest of the La Visciola crus; it has a higher proportion of white clay in the soils that gives even deeper power and more aromatic concentration than in all the other little vineyards. We’ve tasted it with around 8-10 years of age, and it reminds us for all the world of great, mature Vosne-Romanée or Nuits-Saint-Georges. Fermented and aged for at least one year in a mix of concrete tanks and neutral barrels; another year in bottle. Unfined, unfiltered. 1500 btls total. This 2020 represents a back vintage released to us specifically from the winery this year; this wine won’t exist or be offered again. Mozzatta is destined for greatness and should be given another 5-10 years to age, if you can keep from drinking it now.
Lazio Rosso 'Nostrano'
Biodynamic. 100% Nostrano. This is a tiny-production red wine made by La Visciola from the Lazian native variety Nostrano, also known as Maiolica, a rare red that is scattered throughout the old-vines Cesanese vineyards here and there. Quantities are incredibly small, as a result, since like La Visciola's Passerina, this is a variety that is blended into the vineyards in the old style of mixed plantations within the field from the previous century. Medium-bodied, fresh and unique, it's not the same baritone depth of the Cesanese from this house, but instead leans more toward a Sangiovese-like brightness, with red berry fruit and freshness. Fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel, unfined and unfiltered.
