Cesanese di Affile

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The production area extends over approximately 1,380 hectares across a high-hill territory situated on the slopes of the Monti Affilani, a pre-Apennine chain comprising the calcareous massifs of the Ruffi, Prenestini, and Affilani.
• The soils are predominantly red earths derived from the erosion of the Monti Affilani, formed through the decalcification of calcareous sedimentary rocks, with a dark red coloration due to free iron and aluminium oxides.
• The red earths can display highly variable physical characteristics, ranging from heavy soils with a clay-loam texture to less widespread loose soils containing calcareous detrital material, known as detrital red earths.
• The vineyards are cultivated at altitudes ranging from 350 to 950 metres above sea level, with variable slopes and a general aspect oriented toward the west, south-west, and south.
• The climate is temperate, with mean annual rainfall between 1,431 and 1,606 mm, no summer drought, a mean annual temperature between 12.0 and 13.6°C, and a mean minimum temperature in the coldest month between 0.1 and 1.3°C.

• The territory of Affile, inhabited from around 1000 BC by the Italic peoples of the Aequi and the Hernici, became a Roman colony in 133 BC, with a consequent division of the land into small plots allocated to settlers.
• In the seventeenth century the writer Rutilio Scotti extolled the wine's medicinal properties, while in the eighteenth century the Municipal Statute of Affile imposed severe penalties on anyone who damaged the vineyards.
• In the early decades of the twentieth century the wine was awarded Grand Prix Diplomas and Gold Medals at the International Exhibitions of Brussels, Paris, Milan, and Rome.

• Cesanese di Affile in its standard style has a ruby-red colour with violet highlights, an intense nose with floral and fruity notes of berries and stone fruits, and a dry, well-balanced palate of moderate body.
• The sweet version has a ruby-red colour with purple highlights, floral and fruity aromas of cherry accompanied by spicy and vegetal notes, with a pleasantly sweet and harmonious palate.
• The Riserva style shows garnet highlights resulting from ageing, with floral and fruity notes that gradually shift toward spicy or phenolic characters associated with wood, and a dry, well-balanced palate of moderate body.

• The hilly topography of the appellation area and its west, south-west, and south aspect together create a breezy, light-filled environment with naturally well-drained soils, particularly well suited to the cultivation of Cesanese di Affile vineyards.
• The red earths, with their low nutrient content and limited suitability for intensive farming, are well suited instead to quality viticulture with low yields, imparting particular vigour and complexity to the wines.

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-A0698