Alberico – Lazio – 2019

Tenuta Principe Alberico, just a stone’s throw from Rome’s historic centre, along the Appian Way. Inspired by his friend Tancredi Biondi Santi, one of the most famous Italian winemakers of the time, Prince Alberico Boncompagni Ludovisi implemented organic farming practices on this legendary farm, which covers around 120 hectares. Of these 120 hectares, 21 are planted with vines, including a few rows of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and, perhaps most surprisingly, Semillon, which the Prince planted in the late 1940s. Back then, the word ‘organic’ as we know it today didn’t even exist in Italian (or English, for that matter). As the country recovered from the destruction of the Second World War, most Italian farmers, including winegrowers, were converting their estates to highly productive chemical agriculture. But the prince remained true to his vision and is now considered a pioneer of organic grape growing in Italy (some would even say a precursor of natural wine, due to his interest in spontaneous fermentation). The Antinori sisters – Albiera, Allegra and Alessia, the prince’s granddaughters – continue this tradition and have extended the historic plantations using cuttings from the vines that their grandfather himself planted and cultivated.