On the lavic soils of the Matese — between Vesuvius, Roccamonfina, and the Apennines — Campania Felix produces three wines from varieties so specific to their territory that the rest of the world has barely discovered them. The Pallagrello Nero was the King's wine; the Pallagrello Bianco is a mineral study in ancient terroir; the Casavecchia is a survivor, rescued from obscurity and made into something genuinely beautiful. Biodynamic. Unfiltered. Aged in terracotta amphorae. Iconic labels. One of the most original estates in the UniqueWines portfolio. The King's wine. Available through UniqueWines.
Lavic soil; volcanic origin (multiple systems: Vesuvius, Roccamonfina); clay and lavic elements; windy; surrounded by natural amphitheatre of mountains
King Ferdinando IV of Bourbon, who reigned over southern Italy at the time of Napoleon, loved the Pallagrello wine so deeply that he issued a proclamation prohibiting public access to its vineyards in Piedimonte Matese — an act of royal protectionism that is, in the history of wine legislation, almost without precedent. The King's wine, as Pallagrello Nero came to be known, was served alongside French wines at his famous royal banquets: a statement of equivalence that reveals, more than any critical score, the stature this indigenous Campanian variety once commanded.
The estate known as Campania Felix occupies the lavic soil of the Matese — an area of astonishingly rich wines in taste and minerality, produced through fully organic winemaking on lands that look towards the Matese mountains and Monte Taburno, surrounded by the natural amphitheatre formed by Roccamonfina to the north-west and Vesuvius to the south-east. This is wine from volcanic soils in the deepest possible sense: multiple volcanic systems have left their geological signature here, and the wines carry it unmistakably.
IL TEMPO is the estate's Pallagrello Nero — the first wine they ever produced, and the wine that remains the clearest statement of their purpose. Ruby red with aromas of flowers and red fruit, spicy and balsamic notes, freshness on the palate and velvety tannin — it expresses all the wild, lush, and welcoming essence of the Matese terroir, rich in clay and lavic elements, windy, fully immersed in flowers and fruits. The Pallagrello Nero ages for nine months in amphorae and an additional ten months in the bottle — an ageing protocol that honours the grape's ancient character while achieving the cleanness that modern viticulture demands.
LA VOLTA is the estate's Pallagrello Bianco — a white of straw yellow that suggests, on the nose, its environment among clumps of mint and chamomile, hawthorn hedges and juniper, citrus, pear, and apple trees. The fresh, mineral, and balanced taste is a reminder that the sea once covered the Matese. It ages six months in 7.5 hl clay terracotta amphorae and stainless-steel tanks, and two months in the bottle — no cold stabilisation, unfiltered. It is a wine of genuine individuality that the Pallagrello Bianco's character makes almost uniquely its own.
L'ARCA is the estate's Casavecchia — a dark red wine from one of the most romantically mysterious varieties in Italian viticulture. The legend tells that a stump approximately one metre in diameter was discovered in an old ruin (una casa vecchia) in the municipality of Pontelatone — a survivor, it is believed, of the devastating phylloxera epidemic that swept through European viticulture in the late nineteenth century. Deep ruby red with hints of violet, ripe red fruit, and spices; elegant and harmonious tannins; a staple for every convivial moment. The Casavecchia ages nine months in terracotta amphorae and stainless-steel tanks and at least six months in the bottle.
Campania Felix produces biodynamic and fully sustainable wines from some of the most original and irreplicable vines in the Italian canon. Their iconic labels have made this winery famous beyond Campania's borders. Available through UniqueWines.
