Villa Matilde Winery

Falerno del Massico: the legendary wine of ancient Rome, reborn on the slopes of the Roccamonfina volcano

I have a real soft spot for Campania. Flying into Naples over Ischia, with Vesuvius rising behind the Gulf, you immediately feel that this is a land where wine has been made for more than two thousand years. And no wine tells that story better than Falerno, the Falernian of ancient Rome, the most celebrated wine of the Empire, praised by Pliny and Horace and served at the tables of emperors. It had practically disappeared until a Neapolitan lawyer, Francesco Paolo Avallone, decided in the 1960s to bring it back. Together with university researchers he tracked down the surviving old vines of Aglianico, Piedirosso and Falanghina on the Ager Falernus and replanted them in their historic home, between Monte Massico, the Tyrrhenian coast and the extinct Roccamonfina volcano. That was the birth of Villa Matilde. Today his children, Maria Ida and Salvatore Avallone, lead the family estate, with oenologist Maria Cristina De Simone Avallone in charge of production, and around 130 hectares spread across three great districts of Campania: Falerno del Massico around Cellole, the Sannio, and Irpinia with Tenuta Pietrafusa, home of their Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo.

I visited on a crisp and sunny December day, and the light over the vineyards was simply magical: bare, rusty-red Aglianico rows with the Roccamonfina hills behind, and a sunset between the vines that I will not forget easily. Right by the entrance there is a small “living library” vineyard with Aglianico, Greco and Primitivo side by side, and in the cellar, under the family crest, a row of terracotta amphorae, which Villa Matilde has been using since 2012. We tasted through the whites (Falanghina Roccaleoni, Fiano di Avellino Montelapio, Greco di Tufo Daltavilla, Falerno del Massico Bianco Collecastrese) plus their Metodo Classico, and three wines really stood out for me. The Falerno del Massico Bianco Collecastrese, 100% Falanghina from volcanic soils rich in phosphorus and potassium, part of it aged briefly in amphora: pale lemon, with a pronounced nose of white peach, ripe pear, lemon zest, chamomile and a hint of fennel, then a dry, vibrant palate with high acidity, a lovely textural roundness from the lees and a salty, crushed-stone finish. It is a real expression of the place. The Greco di Tufo Daltavilla, from 40 to 60 year old vines on tuff and sulphur-veined clay at 400 to 600 metres in Irpinia, is a different animal: quince, pear, citrus pith and almond, a smoky, flinty edge, taut acidity and that typical Greco phenolic grip that makes it so good with food. And then MaTa, their Metodo Classico from Falanghina, aged for a long time on the lees: golden hints, a fine and persistent mousse, baked apple, lemon curd, toasted brioche and a long almond finish. A proper southern Italian sparkling wine with real personality! We closed the day at the Taverna del Falerno with a feast of Neapolitan classics, from pasta e patate to sfogliatelle and babà.

A huge thank you to the Avallone family and the whole Villa Matilde team for the warm hospitality and for sharing so generously the history of Falerno. It is not every day that you can taste a wine that Roman emperors were drinking two thousand years ago, made today with such care and precision!

Importers, distributors and restaurants interested in working with Villa Matilde are welcome to contact STOVINO via the Contact form on the website or via Instagram/Facebook.

Salute, Villa Matilde!

For further info, please visit the website https://www.villamatilde.it