2024 Monastero Suore Cistercensi, Coenobium Lazio Bianco

The Cistercian nuns of Vitorchiano have been farming five hectares of volcanic hillside north of Rome since the 1990s, with Giampiero Bea (of Italian winemaking fame, Paolo Bea) guiding the cellar. This is genuine polyculture — bees, vegetables, grains, and vines — managed entirely by hand with the kind of unhurried focus that monastic life makes possible. The soils are tufa and volcanic ash, and they leave a mark: iron, smoke, and a vertical acidity that cuts through the wine's considerable texture. Coenobium is Trebbiano, Malvasia, and Verdicchio co-fermented with native yeasts, briefly macerated, and left unfiltered. The 2024 vintage brought real ripeness and mid-palate weight, but the altitude and volcanic nerve keep it focused and bone dry. A wine with genuine character and a story worth telling.