Colli della Sabina

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The soils lie within the Apennine domain of the Sabine transitional series and Quaternary deposits, with yellow sands that are sometimes concretionary and conglomerate layers of varying degrees of cementation.
• The soil also includes clayey sands, grey clays of varying sand content, calcarenites, coarse sands, puddingstones, and organogenic limestones in direct contact with the Mesozoic uplands.
• Pedogenised tuffs derived from the Sabatino and Vicano volcanic systems are present, along with blue clays, marine grey marls, and reworked tuffs.
• In the areas bordering the Sabini Mountains, calcareous formations occur, principally massive limestone and chert.
• The vineyards lie between 19 and 600 metres above sea level, with a general west- and south-facing aspect, in a climate where the average minimum temperature of the coldest month ranges between 1.9 and 2.9°C.

• Strabo states that the entire soil of the Sabina is extraordinarily rich in olives and vines, Pliny the Elder mentions the characteristic grape variety of the Sabina, the vinaciola, and Horace praised the fine wine of the Sabina.
• In 941 a certain Insario, son of Formoso, donated land and vineyards to Abbot Campone of Farfa.
• The grape varieties suitable for production are those traditionally cultivated in the area: Malvasia del Lazio and Trebbiano toscano and giallo for white wines, Sangiovese and Montepulciano for red wines.

• Colli della Sabina bianco displays a more or less intense straw-yellow colour, with a delicate and characteristic nose showing fruity notes, and a dry or pleasantly off-dry palate that is delicate and harmonious.
• Colli della Sabina rosso has a bright ruby-red colour, an intense nose with fruity and floral notes, and a dry, sometimes off-dry, harmonious, and well-structured palate, with good polyphenolic endowment and polymerised tannins.

• A climate of abundant rainfall, summer aridity, and good sunshine in September and October allows the grapes to ripen slowly and fully, contributing to the sensory characteristics of the wine.
• The combination of soil characteristics and climatic factors results, in the white wines, in significant quantities of aromatic precursors that enhance the sensory profile and the characteristic aromas typical of the grape varieties.

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-A0702