This ancient estate, in a town whose most famous son was Benito Mussolini, has a storied history, going back to the 15^th Century. The name is derived from Pandolfo Malatesta, notable soldier, who gathered his troops here before plundering the nearby Fiumana Castle in 1436. His portrait by Early Renaissance painter Piero della Francesca hangs in the Louvre. In 1941, Giuseppe Ricci acquired the estate, and in the 1950s he restored the villa and expanded the farm and vineyards.

Today, the estate comprises about 90 hectares of olive & fruit trees, pomegranates, grains, legumes and forest with 30 hectares of vineyard. Sustainably farmed, the vineyards are in conversion to organic. Vineyards are located at 80-250 metres, about 50 km from the Adriatic.

Marco Cirese, great-grandson of Giuseppe Ricci, is at the helm. The Pandolfa wines demonstrate a distinctly whimsical and contemporary side of the family, while Noelia Ricci reflects more ‘serious’ or classical aspirations.

pandolfa.it