Casteggio

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The area lies in the Oltrepò Pavese, the Apennine hill belt between Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna, facing north onto the Po Plain and limited to the first range of hills, with a maximum elevation of 431 metres above sea level at Monte Ceresino.
• The predominant soils across much of Casteggio, Montebello della Battaglia, and Torrazza Coste are of continental Pleistocene origin, consisting of gravelly, sandy, and silty-clay alluvial deposits that are heavily weathered, with reddish alteration products.
• In the communes of Borgo Priolo, Calvignano, and Oliva Gessi, marine Miocene formations crop out, known as the Formazioni di Variano, composed of marly clays alternating with layers and benches of sand and thin arenaceous interbeds.
• At Corvino San Quirico, the Formazioni di Corvino San Quirico and the Argille di Lugagnano are found, dating to the Pliocene and consisting of marly, silty-sandy clays that are sometimes grey-blue in colour.
• Within the commune of Casteggio, a narrow foothill area known as the Formazione della Fontana di Annibale is present, of continental Pliocene origin, composed of sandstone with concretionary structures and calcified wood and pine cones.
• The zone falls within the pedological landscape of the low to mid Pavese hills, with a Fagetum and Castanetum phytoclimate, temperatures above 10 degrees Celsius, and rainfall of between 700 and 800 millimetres per year.

• The Cantina Sociale di Casteggio, founded in 1907, used Barbera and Croatina as the base for its red wine, and period labels already referred to it by the name Casteggio.
• In 1954, the Cantina Sociale di Casteggio received a bronze medal at the Concorso Enologico Italia Settentrionale in Acqui for its Casteggio wine of the 1952 vintage, which was therefore already an aged wine.

• Casteggio and Casteggio Riserva present an intense ruby-red colour, sometimes with violet highlights, tending towards garnet as the wine ages.
• On the nose the aromas are intense, ethereal, delicate, and complex, with fragrances of red fruits such as marasca cherry, violet, and spice.
• On the palate the wine is dry, harmonious, and of great body and structure, with good acidity and a medium-to-long finish.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-IT-A0974
• Official trade body site — Consorzio Tutela Vini Oltrepo Pavese