What most people are totally unaware of is that the great Medici family is still alive and well, and still flourishes today, principally in Tuscany. It did not die out – only some branches of it. Ottaviano Medici today lives in Naples and that branch of the family continues alive and well. The Medici family is still famous and its members as charming, exotic and quixotic as ever they were, if rather less disturbingly all–powerful.

Today, the family members, about whom I am writing, are fine wine growers and producers and proprietors of the historical and truly magnificent BADIA A COLTIBUONO – ABBEY AT COLTIBUONO – at Gaiole, in Chianti, in the Province of Siena.

 

 

 

HISTORY OF THE DE’ MEDICI FAMILY
It all starts with a gentleman by the name of Averardo, a legendary knight, who fought for Charlemagne during his conquest of Lombardy in the eighth century, who had 6 children and who settled in the fertile Mugello valley, in Cafaggiolo, to the north–east of Florence. The Medici family crest of red balls on a field of gold is said to have been awarded to him by Charlemagne himself, for exceptional valour.
Before the turn of the 13th century they came to try their luck in Florence and settled in the San Lorenzo district. They became money–changers and then bankers. We shall see in the articles on thes “FIVE WINES” that nearly all the great Florentine families were in the early days merchants, and above all bankers!

This family prospered. Chiarissimo, son of another later Averardo, is the first Medici to be mentioned in the records of Florence, in 1201. He was the eldest of Averardo’s 6 children (the youngest, Iovenco, we will come back to later) and himself had four children. Among them was yet another Averardo – known as Bicci.It was common practice in great families to use the same first names over and over again for successive generations.

Averardo Bicci died in 1363, having had five children, one of whom was Giovanni di Bicci (1360–1429). Giovanni had two sons, Cosimo and Lorenzo. Here started the great and glorious Medici history, and here was the foundation stone of the family’s political power. Lorenzo was murdered, quite a common occurrence at that time, but had already fathered a son, Pierfrancesco (1431–1477).

Pierfrancesco had two sons, Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco (1463–1503), and Giovanni (1467–1514). Giovanni had a son, Giovanni delle Bande Nere (1498–1526), who was in his turn father of the great and famous “Cosimo the First” (1519–1574), who was recognised as Duke of Florence by Charles the Fifth, in 1532.
Cosimo the First had two children, the younger of whom was Ferdinando the First (1549–1609), Grand Duke of Florence. His son, “Cosimo the Second” (1590–1621), was also the Grand Duke.
His great–great grandfather, Giovanni, had had the brother, Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco, mentiond above, whose son, Pierfrancesco (1486–15250) had a child, Lorenzino, where that line of succession died out. Cosimo the Second’s father, Ferdinando the First’s elder brother, Francesco (1541–1587), had an only daughter, Maria (1573–1642), who made history and carried the Medicis to the pinnacles of glory, by marrying and becoming Marie de Médicis, Queen of France.

Back to Cosimo the Second, who managed to restrain himself to just seven children. The eldest, who took over the reins of power, was Grand Duke Ferdinando the Second (1610–1670). Poor Ferdinando fathered the incredibly unfortunate “Cosimo the Third” (1642–1723). Unfortunate because, of his three children, one was a female, one of the two boys was mad and the other was homosexual. This led to the end of this noble Florentine branch, responsible for a great deal of the glory of Florence today.

Let us now go back to Giovanni di Bicci and his two sons, Cosimo (1389–1464), and the murdered Lorenzo. We have briefly traced Lorenzo’s descendants. His elder brother, Cosimo, was the founder of the even greater Florentine branch.
His son, Piero (1418–1469), known as Piero the Gouty because of his chronic gout, ruled with great skill in spite of his intense suffering.

His wife gave him a son, Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449–1492), who was also Lorenzo the First, the greatest single figure among the panoply of famous Medicis – poet, ruler, statesman and Renaissance man. Piero the Gouty had another son, Giuliano (1453–1478), who had an illegitimate son, Giulio (1478–1534).

In spite oh his illegitimacy, Giulio became Pope Clement VII, a political and totally unreligious Pope.


It was under him that Henry, King of England, broke away from the Catholic faith and founded the Church of England. Lorenzo the Magnificent’s eldest son, Giovanni, became Pope Leo X, at age just 38. It was he who condemned Martin Luther and sparked the Protestant Revolution.Lorenzo’s third son, Piero (1471–1503), was known as “Piero the Unfortunate”.
Even more unfortunate than poor Cosimo the Third of the other branch, because the Florentine Empire, and indeed Italy as a whole, fell into hopeless and hapless confusion during his time. This Piero fathered Lorenzo the Second (1492–1519), who became the Duke of Urbino.

Proudly aristocratic, he had two children, one illegitimate and the other legitimate – Alessandro (1512–15370), illegitimate and Duke of Florence, and Caterina (1519–1589), legitimate and who crowned his fathers hopes and aspirations by marrying the King of France, Henry the Second, in 1533, and becoming Catherine de Médicis, Queen of France. Unfortunately, Caterina being a daughter and Alessandro being a bastard, this branch of the family came to an end at this point.
Fortunately however, for us here reading this, if we go right back again to the beginning, to Averardo’s six children, we have seen that Chiarissimo, the eldest, was the start of all that we have so far described. The youngest of the six was Iovenco, and from him descends the branch that is still so very much alive and flourishing today. His descendants spread all over Italy, but principally in the South.

Lorenza de’ Medici, a lady of immense talent and the author of numerous excellent cook–books as well as the founder of an elite and discreet cookery school at the Badia, is regretfully the end of the Medici line of the branch we are writing about here. She married a Stucchi Prunetti, as we shall see.
She is famous for making the unforgettable remark “fortunately for me Averardo had children other than Chiarissimo or I would not be here today!” She is very much here today, lives in Milan, but follows the “Berliner Philarmonik” – Berlin Philarmonic Orchestra - wherever it goes. Her children, Emanuela, Paolo, Roberto and Guido are the 21st generation. Other branches, however, continue. Lorenza’s children have cousins. One of these is Ottaviano, who lives in Florence.

He, in his turn, has a son by the splendidly throwback name of Cosimo. Fear not, the Medicis are alive and well and their continuity assured! What an amazing family – then as now! It ruled the fame and fortune of Florence and the Florentine Republic, officially and unofficially, for over 300 years, and if, during that time, there were a few intrigues, murders, bastards and debaucheries, that is no more than par for the course in the rich panoply of Italian history, and is surely far outweighed by their supreme creativity.

Its dedication to culture, learning and literature and its sponsorship of the arts is unrivalled and is responsible for a great deal of the magnificent poetry, sculpture, paintings, frescoes, palaces, churches and great buildings that are our fortunate heritage in Florence and much of Tuscany today. The families related in the other FIVE WINES are responsible for as much, and most, of the rest!


HISTORY OF BADIA A COLTIBUONO
Ancient Times until Modern Times
The most ancient buildings on the site of the present Abbey date right back to Anno Domini 770, when a certain Geremia de’ Firidolfi, a Florentine nobleman, constructed a church and an oratory.

Hermits were housed here. These have completely disappeared and today the oldest building in existence is a very beautiful and gracious stone “cancello” or “bell tower”, with the date, 1160, carved in stone above the door. Almost one thousand years ago (in the 11th century), the Vallombrosian Monks, a subordinate chapter of the Benedictine Monks of the order of Saint Benedetto, established a place of “worship, meditation and agricultural practices” at Badia a Coltibuono – cultus bonus, meaning “place of the good harvest”.

As good Benedictines they were scholars and amanuenses. However, at the same time, the Vallombrosians were also involved in farming and agricultural practices. They introduced the vine to this region. Their foundation was originally a place of “food, shelter and relief for travellers” and a lot of the land was originally a donation to the monks by the Ancient Nobility, noble families such as Firidolfi–Ricasoli, in that 11th century.
At that time, 1141, Brolio, which belonged even then, as it does today, to the Firidolfi–Ricasoli family, was absolutely immense. The Coltibuono coat of arms epitomises the philosophy of those founding monks – a hand holding a staff and sowing seeds.

At that time, wine was made by the monks, mainly red wine, both for daily consumption and for liturgical purposes and the land was worked on a system known as “mezzadria”, with tenant farmers and farmhouses. In the 16th century, Abbott Paul built the present Abbey.
This included a superbly beautiful 16th century cloister, surrounding a mighty central well. In the 17th century, the Abbey was enriched with magnificent frescoes in the refectory, in the chapel on the first floor (which today serves as a library) and in the corridors leading to the monks’ cells (today’s bedrooms). Also a grape–vine pergola was planted by the monks, which is still flourishing. In the 17th century, the later splendid wine cellars were built, still now in use.

The original underground corridors, where the wine was first housed, were probably 11th century. Part of the cellar now is the original crypt. There was further construction in 1710 and in 1761. Around 1850, the 16th century cloister and the well were enclosed in order to reduce the draughtiness of the house when it became a residence.
A book, printed in 1736, describes each farm comprising the Convent property and its buildings. They are described as “workmen’s’ houses”. In 1772, the church walls were whitewashed and decorated and a vaulted ceiling was built, in matting, in place of the original fine Romanesque spanned ceiling, which exists no longer. Exquisite stuccoes are still to be found in the Abbott’s apartment on the ground floor.

The monks were the first people to cultivate the vine in the Chianti area. The name “Chianti” is mentioned in documents for the first time, in 1044. In 1250, the “Lega Del Chianti” was founded, covering the territory of today’s Castellina, Radda and Gaiole, “for the territorial defence and administration of property in common”. The “Podesta” had the insignia of a “Black Rooster on a yellow background”.

Its seat was in Radda. Thus we can see how old is the famous Chianti Classico insignia of the “Black Cock”. In 1716, the Grand Duke of Tuscany fixed the boundaries of Chianti, which coincided with those of the “Lega”, together with a certain amount of Greve.The present day limits were defined, by Ministerial decree Number 209 of 31st July 1932, and this is “Chianti Classico” today.

Throughout the ages, surrounded by the Arno and the Arbia valleys, the Badia is a “wondrous microcosm among rolling woodlands, looking to the peaks of the Pratomagno Mountains and to Mount Amiata (Apennines). Nothing of this has changed since the beginning of its history.

From Napoléon until Today
On 29th September 1810, after over eight centuries as a place of God, Napoléon issued his edict, suppressing all convents, and the Abbey ceased to be a place of religion and became private property.

35 years of highly irreligious living followed. When he “kicked out” the monks, the Abbey was given into the charge of a certain Count Giraud, who owned properties around Livorno. Because of the donations and acquisitions it had become a vast monastic property.

Giraud found the upkeep too expensive for him and the taxes too high. In 1819, a lottery was held and the entire property was sold off whole. The prize was the abbey itself, with all the tenant farmhouses attached to the estate. This became known as the “Lotteria di Coltibuono” and took place on 21st June 1819.
The winner was a certain Polish Baron Ponietowski, who had a penchant for frivolous young ladies. One of these, Cassandra Luci, astutely married him just three years before he died, and managed to squander every penny of his money. ALL his properties, not just Coltibuono, had to be put up for sale, in spite of his having had five sons, and it was Michele Giuntini, forerunner of the present Stucchi Prinetti family, who bought it in 1846.

 

The present descendants of the Iovenco branch of the Medici family have now therefore become joined through marriage with the present owners of Coltibuono, who have been here now for 160 years. The de’ Medicis came back!The Giuntini family were an old family. In 1777 there had been some family problems and the son Michele went to work for Vicenzo Moria Morelli, a Florentine Merchant.

Vicenzo trained him and turned him from a raw young student into an expert financier, a capitalist, a man of means and a well–to–do farmer. He became a wealthy Private Banker.

In 1846, he saw Coltibuono, fell in love with it and bought it at the above-mentioned sale. He immediately had problems because, in 1848, came the Grand Duchy crisis and the Insurrectional Movement. He weathered these successfully and set about restoring the buildings and reorganising the agriculture. He also acquired properties in Selvapiana (Chianti Rufina) and La Parrina (Maremma).
All three estates were run on the old “mezzadria” system, with managers for each. Coltibuono was Michele’s summer residence. It was run as a farm and the wine was sold in bulk. Just enough was bottled, with no particular care, for family consumption. His son, Giuseppe, increased the production of both wine and of olive oil and planted more than 50,000 new vines and continued to restore and to modernise and to improve the wine.

 

In 1907, the Chapter House – refectory was restored, by Leto Chini, and is today a living room. Still visible is a superb 1584 fresco of the “Symbols of Passion” in the Chapel, which is now a library.

By the coming of the Second World War the property was being run by Marilú Giuntini (Guido’s grandmother and Giuseppe’s daughter). She lived in Florence, whilst her brother lived in Selviapiana. She was a powerful personality and kept the property together during the entire period of the war.
This was the lady who married Andrea Stucchi Prinetti, an industrialist from Milan, and descendant of one of the most pioneering families in Italy at the time.

 

One of the inventions for which the Stucchi-Prinetti family is famous, was the first Italian car built in collaboration with Bugatti, in 1896.

The couple had Coltibuono together although it was Marilù who did all the running of the estate. It was Andrea’s great grandfathers, Augusto Stucchi and Giulio Prinetti who, in 1883, started the company Prinetti Stucchi.

At the turn of the century Ettore Bugatti was one of the head engineers, chiefly responsible for a highlyinnovative, coupled-double, mono-cylindrical, front-mounted engine, but he had to be ‘laid off’, in 1903, due to Giulio Prinetti’s political career. Giulio was nominated Minister of Public Works, and his dropping out of the company meant that Augusto had to buy out all his shares. This subsequently put a stop on any further investment, including Bugatti’s project on a new automobile.

Thus it was effectively Ettore Bugatti who worked for the Stucchi-Prinetti’s. Prinetti & Stucchi became Stucchi & Co, in 1903, but they were the first in all of Italy to produce an automobile.
Andrea had three sons – Piero, Franco and Giancarlo – and it was Piero who took over Coltibuono. The other two boys met tragic accidents. One was shot in 1943 and the other killed in a car accident. However Piero ONLY inherited Coltibuono and the other family members got the rest of the very considerable estates.

Piero was an engineer, descended from a Milanese industrial family. He had married Lorenza de’ Medici, the principal Medici and raison d’être of this entire article. They had four children. Today their eldest child, Emanuela, runs the estate and is the ex–president of the Consorzio del Marchio Storico Chianti Classico. Paolo looks after art, culture and tradition with which Badia a Coltibuono abounds.
Roberto is a qualified oenologist and is responsible for the U.S.A Market, and to a much lesser extent is involved in the viniculture, the viticulture and the wine. Guido, the youngest, looks after hospitality, visitors, public relations, the cooking school and classes and the restaurant.


LOOKING BACK
Piero married Lorenza de’ Medici in 1953, and for Lorenza it must have been a strange sort of “déjà vu” when she came to live at Coltibuono. She was far from the first Medici to have had dealings with it.

If we look back at our history of the Medici family, to Lorenzo the Magnificent, he coveted the place, and in the middle of the 15th Century he used his immense power and influence to have Donato Ugolini appointed as the Abbott of the Abbey. Donato was one of his closest friends, and his brother, Baccio (Kiss) Ugolini, was a poet, as was Lorenzo the Magnificent.
He wrote a letter, still in the archives today, dated 13th July 1476, in which he says :
« Magnificent Lorenzo de’ Medici, most excellent patron. Magnificent... and the red wine here is better than at Vallombrosa, the white if not superior at least equal.

Such assessments of the quality of a wine were rare and remarkable so many centuries ago. Lorenzo the Magnificent ate wild boar at the Abbey, and drank the wine, but did not acquire the property. His son, Giovanni, who as we have seen became Pope Leo X, was made Abbott of Coltibuono at 8 years of age and nominated a Cardinal, on 11th December 1488, at age 13, at which time he was given proprietary rights over the Abbey. He became Pope, in 1513, and passed on the rights to his cousin, Cardinal Giuliano de’ Medici. Lorenza, when she came to live there, said, “some people say that I am the last Medici. Some people even say that I ought to be extinct!”
Her nephew, Ottaviano, has quite recently written a book about the family history of her branch of the family. She was born and baptised Lorenza de’ Medici de Ottajano (a principality in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, of which the Medicis were Princes). Hers is commonly known as the Neapolitan branch.

If we go back to Lorenzo the Magnificent, we find that a granddaughter of his married a collateral cousin, Ottaviano, a senator in 1532, and their son was called Bernadetto. The family sent him to Naples, in 1567. He became Baron of Ottajano and his brother, Alessandro, became Pope Leo XI. Bernadetto’s son, Alessandro, was Prince of Ottajano and Duke of Sarno.
Much later, when Cosimo The Third’s daughter, Anna Maria Louisa, last of the Florentine line, Electress Palatine and Grand Duchess of Tuscany, was forced to hand over the Grand Duchy to the Lorraine’s of Austria, she imposed one condition – “all my property, palaces, villas, works of art, NEVER be removed from Florence for the benefit of the public from all nations”.

Ottaviano, the nephew who has recently written the book, thinks that at this point it should have been Giuseppe de’ Medici, Prince of Ottajano at that time (end of 17th century) and descendant of Alessandro, first Prince of Ottajano, and the then only surviving member of the Medici bloodline, who should have inherited the title of Grand Duke of Tuscany and all the Medici possessions.

This did not happen, or Lorenza would have today been the heir to all the Medici treasure in the Pitti and Medici palaces and elsewhere!

Under Piero, and now quite recently even more so, under the management of his children, tremendous changes and improvements have been made. The abbey still has its stupendous 16th and 18th century courtyards, basically unchanged. The old monks’ cells are at present being converted into splendidly comfortable bedrooms, without changing any of the original shapes or forms. All is lovingly preserved. The ancient flagstone stairs and corridors resound and echo, as they must have done four hundred years ago. The Italian gardens are a joy and balm to the soul, quite literally so, with their fine collection of ancient medicinal herbs. The entire complex, built originally with the lovely Albarese stone and surrounded by 2000 acres of their own woodland, remains intact.

 

WHO’S WHO
We have looked at all the members of the Stucchi Prinetti family, who own the property. They have a consultant oenologist who is Maurizio Castelli. Other personnel of vital importance are : Claudo Marenghi (agronomist and production manager), Alessandra Michelini (chief accountant), as well as Francesco Bargellini, and Fabrizio Bongini (commercial representatives).


VITICULTURE

After ten centuries of uninterrupted agriculture, the Stucchi Prinetti family are determinedly organic today. They say, quite simply “viticulture must have 100% natural origins.

 

We believe in preserving the best of the old ways”. They use neither herbicides nor pesticides.

Small-scale producers in the neighbourhood, selected with very great care, provide a portion of the grapes and also of the wine.

These are brought to the modern and ecologically friendly wine–making facilities, described below, built at Monti, in Chianti, in the hills of Brolio (Monti).

However we must stress that the Estate Wines come absolutely 100% from the estate owned vineyards. The farms of Coltibuono, where they produce the majority of their requirements, comprise 917 hectares in total. 800 hectares are woodland and 95 are cultivated. Of these 95, 77 hectares are devoted to vineyards and 18 to olive groves. 95% of the vineyards are planted with Sangiovese and the remainder with Canaiolo, Ciliegiolo, Colorino, together with a very small parcel of Merlot and Gamay (1 hectare total).

Also some Malvasia and some Trebbiano for the Vin Santo. The Chianti that they make here is “Classico”.These vineyards boast fine, mature, aged vines. There are still some 50–year old vines and a vast range of 18-19-year old Sangiovese vines, which were produced by massal selection. Replanting started in 1988. 80% of the vines are over 10 years old. The average production is some 3.5 – 4.5 metric tons per hectare, but could well be 5 without any detriment to the quality of the wine.
The pruning has now been Single Guyot since just 3 years ago for the Sangiovese, and is now so also for the Malvasia and Trebbiano. They experimented with Spur Pruning but have come back to Guyot! They leave 8-11 eyes per vine. Controlled cover crops are used, and the grass, which is grown between rows, is then mulched. Plantation density is being increased to 5500–6500 vines per Hectare.

Two of their farms, Argenina and Montebello, at a height of 250–320 metres above sea level, used to be planted with olive groves that dated back as far as the 13th century. Today, all the 8,000 olive trees, on the 18 hectares of groves, are planted in the DOP (Denominazione de Origine Protetta) Valdarno Superiore region, just 2 kilometres beneath the Abbey itself.
The rich clonal mix of Sangiovese grapes in the vineyards, with their wide genetic diversity, developed over the centuries, gives rich, unique characteristics to the wine. The climate is hot by day, cool by night. The soil is rich in clay and limestone rock. Grapes are picked plot by plot, with careful parcellar selection, at optimum ripeness and no over-maturity, always by hand.Concentration, length, complexity, balance and suppleness are the aims and the objects of the Stucchi Prinetti family, as well as soft and enveloping tannins, fresh and controlled acidity and deep fruit. All this gives elegance, purity and depth.

WINE MAKING
The wine–making plant is an attractive, modern, Renaissance fortress, designed by the architects, Piero Sartogo and Natalie Grenon.Situated at 350–450 metres above sea level, it can handle grapes and wine from 100 Hectares. Its official capacity is 8843 Hectolitres and it has 3205 Hectolitres capacity in barrel.

The annual production is some 2300 Hectolitres, including the barrels in the Abbey cellar, nearly all of which is bottled and aged at the property.

It was Guido’s father who really started Coltibuono on its way back to fame as a wine, with a fine label design and a first bottling in 1958. However there are wines in the cellars back to 1937.A few bottles of 1946, discovered by Guido, apparently still taste splendid! These used to be kept in old chestnut casks for many years.

At first the wine was just “riserva” before becoming “Chianti Classico”. Long, slow fermentation at 24–26˚C gave it great fragrance.

Advanced technology, gravity displacement of the grapes and of the wine, barrel ageing and rigorous quality selection are all practiced regularly to ensure that only the highest quality wines emerge from the aesthetic, yet classical cellars.

Once the wine is in the barrel it is transported back to the Badia, where it ages in barrel in the cool ancient corridors underneath the abbey itself.

These are both a joy and an historical marvel to visit.The wine is matured in barrels, 45% of which are of Austrian oak. Each year one third new barrels are used, one third barrels of one year old and one third barrels of two years old. This is done for the 225 litres “barriques” only, the larger ones being scraped every 10 years. They have two coopers for the large vats but five for the barrels. They like medium toast but also enjoy trying experiments.

Splendid Vin Santo is made from three Hectares of vineyard, which has been recently replanted. For this wine, the must weight is often 30–35˚ and they produce some 7–8,000 half bottles per vintage. Four years maturing in the little barrels gives a wine of around 14-15˚ of alcohol with around 90 grams of residual sugar.
This ferments in summer and stops in winter during this period. Since 2003, Coltibuono also produces a Vin Santo “Occhio di Pernice”, made with 100% Sangiovese grapes.

The system of vinification is identical, and this first wine will be bottled in 2007. At present these precious barrels are still sealed. Both wine and olive oil are produced at Coltibuono, as well as other fine agricultural products (see PRODUCTION), and an excellent restaurant serves the wines of the property with delicious Tuscan dishes inspired by Lorenza de’ Medici – hand made fresh pasta, local lamb and rabbit and the incomparable Chianina beef, as well as local sheep and goat cheeses and almond tarts and pastries.

PRODUCTION, WINES AND PRODUCE
We cannot finish without enumerating the wines produced at Badia a Coltibuono. Since the 2003 vintage, all wines of the estate are produced with fully organically grown grapes, as certified by ICEA (Institute for Ethical and Environmental Certification).

This means grassing, green manure, and cover crops of broad beans, cloves, oats, and alfalfa. It means organic fertiliser from their own compost. It means vine stakes made from Coltibuono’s own chestnut.

It means total respect of the soil, the environment and the ecosystem. In other words – “resolutely the best of the modern with the finest of the old, the traditional and the historical”. Could anything be better ?


COMMERCIAL RANGE
Cetamura Bianco. ( Trebbiano, Malvasia and Sauvignon)
Cetamura Rosato. (Sangiovese and Canaiolo)
Trappoline, I.G.T. Chardonnay and Sauvignon
Cancelli. I.G.T. Sangiovese, with a little Syrah
Cetamura Chianti. D.O.C.G. Sangiovese and Canaiolo

ESTATE RANGE
Selezione RS, Chianti Classico D.O.C.G. (Sangiovese)
Badia a Coltibuono, Chianti Classico. D.O.C.G. (Sangiovese 90% and Canaiolo 10%)
Cultus Boni, Chianti Classico, D.O.C.G. Top of the line, first produced in 2001 (Sangiovese 80%, Colorino, Ciliegiolo, Merlot)
Badia a Coltibuono, Chianti Classico, Riserva, D.O.C.G. (Sangiovese 90% and Canaiolo 10%)
Sangioveto, I.G.T. (Pure Sangiovese). Top of the line
Vin Santo del Chianti Classico, D.O.C. Trebbiano and Malvasia

ALSO PRODUCED
Olio di Uliva – Olive Oil. Extra Virgin olive oil
Albereto Extra virgin olive oil – organic, unfiltered
Campo Corto Extra virgin olive oil – organic, unfiltered mono-varietal (Frantoio)
Grappa di Sangioveto - Balsamic Vinegar, Lorenza de’ Medici
Red Wine Vinegar - Honey

COLOUR : Fine, clean and bright. Not too deep, but attractive and brilliant.
NOSE : Fresh, vital, deeply fruited with Sangiovese predominating in a most attractive way. Fine, driving acidity gives it vibrancy. Again most attractive.
PALATE : This is the epitome of Sangiovese. The bitter cherry tang shines through from beginning to end. Long, with a strong and attacking finish of Sangiovese, which lingers on the aftertaste? An extremely distinctive wine and highly individual. Not your average, run-of-the-mill Chianti! The acidity gives it bright freshness. This is the perfect match for Tuscan food and is superbly drinkable now. It was bottled October 2006 and is now on the market. Go for it!!

 

2003 CULTUS BONI, CHIANTI CLASSICO DOCG.

90% Sangiovese, 5% Merlot, 5% Cilliegiolo
COLOUR : Deep, rich, vivid and dense colour. Dark and intense.
NOSE : This wine was aged in 225 litre French oak barrel. We must also remember that 2003 was a very hot vintage. The nose is deep and rich and almost opulent. However the fresh acidity, so difficult to maintain in this vintage, balances perfectly and keeps the wine in harmony.
PALATE : Fine and deep. Strong, solid structure, but splendidly fleshed out. The tannins are present, powerful and strong. They show the passage in oak, but they have been perfectly managed and are integrating steadily and well. Very small crop and very concentrated must. Only 50% of an average yield.
A touch of elegance may be lacking but is more than made up for in intensity and ripe, rich fruit flavours. This is a big wine. There is chocolate there. In spite of the power, the tangy Sangiovese finish predominates at the end. This serious wine will repay laying down for several years.

2001 SANGIOVETO DI TOSCANA, IGT.
100% Sangiovese
COLOUR : Deep, rich, full-blooded with still a purple edge. Surprisingly young and vivid for 2001. Intense and attractive.
NOSE : Big and solid. This nose is not in a hurry and tells you so in no uncertain terms. It reveals itself bit by bit in successive layers. Complex and profound. All the fruit is there but saying “wait until I am ready”.
PALATE : In the past 100% Sangiovese was forbidden under the appellation laws. Also you were not allowed to use a varietal as the name of the wine. Sangioveto is an old name for Sangiovese, as was San Zoveto. Only old vines are used in this wine and this shows clearly. A big, muscular, macho wine.
The tannins are still granular but steadily softening. They are powerful but in harmony with this powerfully structured wine. Intense chocolate on the palate, bitter chocolate and black cherries. Very long in the mouth and finishing powerfully. Fine austerity and excellent acid/fruit/alcohol balance. Put this away and forget about it for at least 5 years and you will have a fine wine in your glass.

1988 SANGIOVETO. PRE THE IGT APPELLATION, THEREFORE TUSCAN TABLE WINE (VINO DA TAVOLA)
100% Sangiovese
COLOUR : Brilliant, with a garnet heart and a russet edge. Wonderfully profound and bright with flashing, garnet reflections. Mouth-watering.
NOSE : I count myself very fortunate to have been able to taste and enjoy this old wine. We must not call it Chianti, but of course it is. It demonstrates superbly the ageing potential of these wines when they are well made.
PALATE : This is Chianti with grace, Chianti with charm, Chianti the way Chianti aught to be! Pure Sangiovese, the purest of the pure. This is the most seductive and elegant expression of mature Sangiovese. It has complexity and layer upon layer of flavours and expressions that change in the glass and in the mouth. This is a cerebral wine, a wine of meditation. Not a wine for gulping, but a wine for sipping, wine to go with fine food, classical music and beautiful women. It would be fair to say that this is a fully adult nobleman. It commands respect. Would all the modern day Sangiovese wines would or could mature like this. A delight!

TOP OF THE PAGE