Storia
The medieval estate
The fortified Castello di Serranova developed around a defensive tower erected in 1350. Originally known as the difesa del palombaro, the tower was intended to protect the area against attacks by the Barbareschi.
Raimondo del Balzo Orsini, Prince of Taranto, owned the estate from 1382 to 1407. Ownership then passed to Queen Maria d’Enghien, Countess of Lecce, who held it from 1407 until 1464. The present cultivation of Primitivo at Serranova is framed as a tribute to Raimondo del Balzo Orsini.
Entry into the Vallone estates
Tenuta Castel Serranova became part of the Vallone agricultural holdings at the end of the 1960s. It joined the family’s existing Tenuta Flaminio and Tenuta Iore properties and became the largest of the three estates, extending across 335 ha.
The Graticciaia experiment
In 1980, the terraces of the fortified masseria were used for the first drying trials with Negroamaro intended for Graticciaia. Oenologist Severino Garofano promoted the experiment, convinced of Negroamaro’s versatility and stature. Six years of trials followed before the first Graticciaia vintage was produced from the 1986 harvest. The project linked a traditional drying practice with a new interpretation of Negroamaro and became one of the defining episodes in Vallone’s modern development.
Recovery of Susumaniello
A project to recover Susumaniello began at Tenuta Castel Serranova in 1998. The variety subsequently became central to the estate’s identity alongside Ottavianello, Verdeca, Primitivo, Negroamaro and Fiano. The Tenuta Serranova collection was created around the property, with Castel Serranova as its reference red.
Terroir
Tenuta Castel Serranova lies at Carovigno in northern Salento. Its 335 ha extend from the small promontory occupied by the fortified Castello di Serranova to the Adriatic Sea. The property is embedded in the natural setting of the Torre Guaceto reserve, and land surrounding the reserve forms an integral part of the agricultural estate.
The vineyard soils are described as intensely red and limestone-clay in composition. Proximity to the Adriatic is a defining element of the setting, while Vigna Castello is enclosed by dry-stone walls at the boundary between the cultivated vineyard and the surrounding reserve landscape.
Vinificazione
The estate’s most consequential viticultural project began in 1998 with the recovery of Susumaniello. The variety now occupies a central place in Serranova’s identity.
The vineyards preserve a broad group of varieties associated with the property: Susumaniello, Ottavianello, Verdeca and Primitivo are expressly presented as representative plantings, while Negroamaro and Fiano also supply estate-origin wines. Primitivo is cultivated in homage to the medieval owner Raimondo del Balzo Orsini. The cultivated land is integrated into the natural landscape surrounding the Torre Guaceto reserve, and Vigna Castello is physically bounded by traditional dry-stone walls.
Historic drying work
In 1980, the terraces of the fortified masseria became the setting for Negroamaro drying trials connected with the creation of Graticciaia. The work continued for six years before the first successful vintage was produced from the 1986 harvest. This experiment represents the principal estate-level production practice documented for Castel Serranova and joined a traditional grape-drying method with a new oenological project.
Filosofia
Tenuta Castel Serranova’s identity is built around the relationship between its historic architecture and the natural environment extending toward the Adriatic. Its self-conception brings together three ideas: an aristocratic historical inheritance, the innovative impulse embodied by the Graticciaia experiment, and harmony between the long history of the property and the landscape of the Torre Guaceto reserve.
The recovery of Susumaniello reflects an approach that treats local varieties as living elements of the estate rather than as historical curiosities. Within the broader Vallone family project, varietal character is intended to remain precise and recognizable, without excess or forced expression, while stylistic and oenological development is balanced against continuity of identity.