Cantine Matrone

The Matrone family has been cultivating vines on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, just east of Naples, since the 1700s. Fast forward to this century, when Andrea Matrone and his cousin Francesco reappropriated the original 18th-century family cantina and 2.3 hectares of vineyards on the southern slopes of Vesuvius. If Etna’s volcanic wines are nobile, Vesuvius’ are wild, with potassium and iron-rich volcanic soils providing funky bitter and salt notes akin to the moss between the teeth of Ewok on an Imperial speeder bike. There’s one bianco made mostly from Caprettone (which may be none other than Trebbiano d’Abruzzo according to Andrea), a part of which sees two days of skin contact, and one rosso (mostly Piedirosso). Farming is in conversion to organic (it will be certified from 2024) and fermentations are from pied de cuve from local yeasts. Total production is 10,000 bottles. This is another compelling, young producer springing from an old family tradition – a combination that increasingly is making some of the most exciting wines in Italy.