Ciavolich

Ciavolich

LORETO APRUTINO | ABRUZZO

Founded: 1853
Owner: Chiara Ciavolich
Winemaker: Chiara Ciavolich & Romano d’Amario
Hectares under vines: 35ha
Altitude above sea level: 250m
Average annual production: 100,000 bottles
Green code: Lutte Raisonée

WHAT THEY SAY

Chiara’s ancestors were Bulgarian Merchants who took refuge in Miglianico in the 1560s. In 1853 Francesco Ciavolich built the first winery. It was lost through the second world war and regained in the 1960s and the family have continued to make wine to present day. Chiara Ciavolich now heads up the estate, utilising sustainable practices.

WHAT WE SAY

These are exciting, artisanal wines made in a contemporary style, using a blend of old and new techniques, mainly using Montepulciano, Trebbiano and Cococciola varieties many of which were first planted in the 1960s.

The grapes are all hand picked before being crushed gently in the estate’s ancient press. The winery employs various fermentation techniques and elevage takes place in either cement, stainless steel, Slavonian and French oak or terracotta amphorae. Chiara and Romano decide which type to use during the August samplings of the various plots.

WHAT OTHERS SAY

Sarah McCleery, The Buyer:

My tastebuds fell fully for the charms of Abruzzo at the table of Chiara Ciavolich.

Having inherited her 35-hectare estate from her parents, Ciavolich’s wines were amongst the most poised and elegant I tasted all day and were very much ‘foodie’ wines. Embracing the here and now and respecting the past is an easy thing to write but harder to put into practice, but the Ciavolich wines are wonderfully evocative and to taste them is a tasty and articulate walk through Abruzzo’s history.

Walter Speller, Jancis Robinson.com:

It is Trebbiano d’Abruzzo that is slowly becoming the regions signature Variety. The Fosso Cancelli from Chiara Ciavolich (pergola trained vineyard planted in 1960) is a textbook example of what Trebbiano d’Abruzzo is about, leaving no doubt about the greatness of this often misunderstood variety.

2018 Fosso Cancelli Trebbiano d’Abruzzo: “Deep straw yellow with a golden tinge. Hay, flowers, chamomile, hints of breadcrumb, sweet and a little rich and complex. Boskoop apple and nervy white and yellow fruit on the palate with hints of spice. Drink 2021-2028”

WINES WE IMPORT

WHITES:

  • Pecorino Aries Colline Pescaresi IGT

  • Pecorino Fosso Cancelli Colline Pescaresi IGT

  • Trebbiano D’Abruzzo Fosso Cancelli DOC

REDS:

  • Cerasuolo D’Abruzzo DOC

  • Cerasuolo D’Abruzzo Fosso Cancelli DOC

  • Montepulciano D`Abruzzo Divus DOC

  • Montepulciano D’Abruzzo Fopsso Cancelli DOC