Casale Mattia

Viticultural roots: 1960 and the 1960s

Casale Mattia grew from the combined viticultural histories of the Rotelli and De Sanctis families, both established participants in the Frascati wine sector during the 1960s.

Around 1960, Attilio Rotelli, grandfather of the present owner Roberto Rotelli, acquired land in the Colle Mattia area and began cultivating vines. Attilio and his son Fernando, Roberto’s father, acquired and farmed the land on which Casale Mattia would later be created. Fernando continued the viticultural activity after Attilio.

During the same decade, Lucia De Sanctis’s grandfather Armando De Sanctis and Armando’s son Giuseppe founded a winery devoted to bringing Frascati wine to market. Their initiative helped expand recognition of Frascati under the De Sanctis name both in Italy and internationally.

Creation of Casale Mattia: 1996

Roberto Rotelli and Lucia De Sanctis launched the Casale Mattia project in 1996, bringing together the experience of their two families. Their objective was to restore the traditional and authentic identity of Frascati wine at a time when its image had become less distinct, while making environmental stewardship and the local territory central to the project.

That year, a winery equipped with modern systems for grape processing, wine storage and bottling was built. The estate thereby completed the production chain by adding estate bottling to its established vineyard activity. The land was also converted immediately to organic management.

Casale Mattia became the first organically managed producer of Frascati DOC wine. The approach was subsequently adopted by other producers. Its early commitment initially gained recognition in international markets and later within its home territory.

Continuing family project

Roberto Rotelli remains the estate’s proprietor, while Casale Mattia continues to unite the Rotelli family’s work in the Colle Mattia vineyards with the De Sanctis family’s experience in producing and commercialising Frascati. The project combines direct control of the production chain, established local traditions and modern cellar technology.

Organic farming has formed part of the Casale Mattia project since 1996. The estate describes this choice as an ethical commitment to its territory, the character of its soils and future generations, and identifies itself as the first organically managed producer of Frascati DOC.

Synthetic herbicides, chemical fertilisers and other synthetic products were removed from the farming programme. Vineyard work instead includes controlled grass cover, green manure, organic fertilisation and crop thinning. Grass cover is also presented as part of the estate’s effort to conserve the traditional landscape.

Vineyards alternate with olive groves and fields, supporting biodiversity across the property. Care of both the vines and olive trees is treated as continuous agricultural work rather than an isolated seasonal intervention.

Harvesting is performed exclusively by hand. Selection begins rigorously in the vineyard and continues in the winery, with particular attention to grape health and prevailing weather conditions. Organic control is associated with ICEA operator code IT BIO 006 G1233.

The winery constructed in 1996 completed Casale Mattia’s production chain by adding facilities for grape processing, wine storage and estate bottling. It is equipped with modern production, storage and bottling systems.

The estate and its enologist monitor each stage from harvest onward. Grapes are harvested by hand, subjected to strict selection in the vineyard and selected again in the winery. Production encompasses still white wines, red wines made by a traditional method, and both white and rosé sparkling wines produced by the Charmat method.

This direct oversight of the entire chain is intended to combine local tradition with modern technology and maintain control from vineyard selection through vinification and bottling.