Casale del Giglio

As a child and young teenager the fields and lanes of the family estate, Casale del Giglio, were nothing more to Antonio Santarelli than a place where he could spend carefree weekends and indulge his budding passion for motorbike riding; but all that changed when he joined his father Dino in the family business. By then, a shrewd twenty-five year old, he knew instinctively that their unconventional land in the Agro Pontino valley, some 30 miles south of Rome, offered a unique opportunity to attempt something no-one had ever attempted before.

 

The total lack of any vine growing tradition in the area meant that Antonio and his father could give free rein to their pioneering ideas. Some of the most famous ampelographers and university researchers of the day were convinced by these ideas and were inspired to join them in a research project which was launched in 1985 with the planting of close to 60 different experimental vines in Casale del Giglio’s soil. No scheme as bold and daring had ever been approached in such a scientific way before and Casale del Giglio’s young winemaker, Paolo Tiefenthaler, was to become its leading light.

 

The believers in the endeavour were amply rewarded for their audacity however when they achieved their first significant results from the red grape varieties Syrah and Petit Verdot and the whites, Viognier, Chardonnay and Sauvignon. Each of these varieties has given rise to both monovarietal wines and to blends, all of which display an excellent price/quality ratio.