Let us therefore waste no more time on this introduction, but plunge directly into the amazing Frescobaldi dynasty!

 

With almost no exceptions that I can think of, the Frescobaldi family has been more involved, and for longer, in the fame, fortune, rise, fall and destiny of Florence, the Florentine Republic and later the United Italy, than any other family in the country. Most of the others, who can lay similar claims, are the other families of the FIVE WINES in this issue of TASTED.

 

It is for me personally, as author of this article, an immense pleasure to write about them, especially as I lay claim to a very long-standing friendship with Leonardo Frescobaldi. A friendship that has nothing to do with business, but purely personal. He is one of Frescobaldi’s Vice Presidents and we shall hear more about him later.The problem about writing about such a family is to try to condense, into a 5000 word article, the mass of information which requires an enormous tome.

There is an enormous and very beautiful book, which they gave me. It is entitled “The Frescobaldi, a Florentine Family” and is written by Dino Frescobaldi and Francesco Solinas. I recommend it fervently to anybody who would like to know more about one of Italy’s greatest families.

 

Another problem is that they have so many wine estates that I can only mention them far too briefly.

There was nothing that they were not involved in those Frescobaldis : commerce, banking, agriculture, politics, art and everything political, sociological and economic.Let us therefore waste no more time on this introduction, but plunge directly into the amazing Frescobaldi dynasty!

 

 

HISTORY OF THE FRESCOBALDI FAMILY
It would be impossible, given the space allotted to me, to do better than to use here the TIMELINE written by the family itself. Incomplete as it is, it gives a brief outline of their history and underlines most of its vital or salient points.

As we will see, the family is of German origin and came to Italy, well before 1000 AD, probably soon after 900 AD, in the retinue of Emperor Otto I. They would appear to have settled first in the Arno valley, Val di Pesa, where they prospered and acquired fiefdoms.

A Stoldo de’ Frescobaldi settled in the region of Florence in the first half of the 11th Century, having been granted privileges of nobility in 955 AD at Viterbo by the Emperor Otto II. Authenticated documents show them as having already been influential and well established and owning residences with towers by 1054 ( towers were a privilege of the noble, the wealthy and of rulers).Thus they have completed well over 1000 years of catalogued history.

Here is what they relate :
MARCHESI DE’ FRESCOBALDI TIMELINE

10th CENTURY, The Frescobaldi name appears in historical records as important Tuscan landowners, having arrived with the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I from Germany, as we have seen above.

11th CENTURY, They moved from the CASTILLIONE VALLIS PEASE (now Castiglioni) to the OLTRANO, in Florence, and built there a lodge tower, which is still visible today in front of the palace in the Piazza Frescobaldi.

12th CENTURY, They were Papal tax gatherers at the court of the King of England, to collect money for the Crusades. They also financed the wars of Edward I and Edward II of England. They joined the “Arte del Cambio”, the Corporation for the families involved in banking and trading.They were involved in art, just as much as banking and merchant trading in wool and silk.

13th CENTURY, After moving to a rapidly developing Florence, around 1100 (as seen above), the Frescobaldis became established in the financial and business community, in addition to their prominence in viticulture and other agricultural endeavours. Their wine making history, which is, in the final analysis, what interests us most here, really got under way when Berto de’ Frescobaldi inherited a rural property, which included villas. Even at this time they were in the forefront of wine making.

They acquired massive amounts of land. Active in a number of European and medieval states, they became tax collectors and bankers to the English throne, operating silver mines and minting coinage.By 1265, they had founded and registered, in Florence, one of the earliest commercial companies in Europe, “The Fillorum Frescobaldi de Florentia”.

 

This is what brought them into banking, as it was a precursor of today’s international banks. They became officially Florentine in the middle of the 13th century, as a noble family.Henry VII (1275-1313), gave them imperial favour and they continued to be rulers in the Arno.Dino Frescobaldi, poet and friend of Dante, found the first seven chapters of the Divine Comedy when Dante fled from Florence, allowing him to end the Poem.The Frescobaldis built the first toll bridge over the Arno River in 1252.

 

14th CENTURY, Viticulture becomes the most prominent Frescobaldi enterprise.Henry VIII defaulted on the Frescobaldis’ loan which financed England’s role in the 100 Years’ War. They had been supplying him with quantities of goods and wine.

15th CENTURY, The Frescobaldi family sells wine to the court, and to the cultured and wealthy, throughout the many independent Italian states. Donatello and other famous Florentines, such as Michelozzo and Ghiberti, purchased wine from the family; Brunelleschi was commissioned to build the Santo Spirito church for the Frescobaldis.

17th CENTURY,Gerolamo Frescobaldi, organist and composer, is recognised internationally as an innovator in music composition.

1716, Pomino is established as an “appellation” by the Tuscan sovereign Cosimo 111 de’ Medici, predating Bordeaux appellation designations by 140 years.

19th CENTURY, Properties of the degli Albizzi family are united with those of the Frescobaldis, bringing new scientific approaches to viticulture.

I855, Vittorio degli Albizzi brings to Tuscany, for the first time, non-native grape varieties - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon - to plant at Pomino and Nipozzano, suited to this cool microclimate.1863, Angiolo Frescobaldi marries Leonia degli Albizzi, who brings Pomino and Nippozano with her.

1925, Lamberto Frescobaldi introduces, in the Tuscan mountains and hills, Douglas fir trees from the U. S. to expand the forest of Pomino and continues a family tradition of conservation and protection.

1940s - 1950s, Lamberto Frescobaldi begins reconstructing the family businesses after the destruction of the Second World War.

Late 1950s, Vittorio, Lamberto’s son (29th generation), focuses on updating vineyard and production techniques. In addition to this he also plants the largest private forest of Douglas fir trees in Europe.

 

Major changes take place in the Tuscan agricultural world: the old sharecropping system (mezzadria) is abandoned in favour of the direct running system by the landowner.

1960s, The Frescobaldis are leaders in the movement to have Chianti designated as an appellation.

1963, The D.O.C. law is introduced in Italy for the first time. 1964, Ferdinando and Leonardo join the company, working on the marketing and commercial side. Ferdinando takes on the home market, Leonardo the overseas markets.

1966, The Brunello Region achieves the D.O.C. appellation (D.O.C.G. in 1980).

1967, The Chianti Region achieves the D.O.C. appellation (D.O.C.G. in 1984).

1968-72, Vittorio gives a stronger impulse to viticulture and further hectares of vineyards are planted within the Frescobaldi estates. Frescobaldi becomes the largest winegrower in Europe with 500 hectares of vineyard.

1973, Pomino Benefizio, the first Italian barrel fermented Chardonnay, is introduced.

1974, Montesodi, from the single vineyard of Castello di Nipozzano, is produced for the first time.

1975, Vittorio Frescobaldi, on behalf of a group of international shareholders, plants in the Brunello Region, at Castel Giocondo, the largest extension of vineyard in the region (230 hectares).

1983, Pomino is recognised as a D.O.C. Mormoreto, a Cabernet Sauvignon from a single vineyard in Castello di Nipozzano, is produced for the first time.

1989, Frescobaldi purchases the Castel Giocondo estate in Montalcino. Castel Giocondo thus becomes the eighth estate of Frescobaldi, who already owns 750 hectares of vineyard in Tuscany.

1990, Frescobaldi Laudemio, the premium Tuscan extra virgin olive oil, is introduced. Bona Frescobaldi is named President of the Consortium.

1990s, The Frescobaldis continue to refine their viticultural and winemaking practices; including replanting vineyards at up to 6,000 vines/hectare (“traditional” density was 2,500 vines to the hectare).The Frescobaldis were one of the first in Tuscany to plant cover crops using native grasses in 1993; by 1995 all vineyards were planted with this sustainable-agriculture technique, which reduces or prevents the need for chemical pesticides.
A new generation of Frescobaldi family members enters the family business. Lamberto junior introduces new viticultural techniques in the Frescobaldi estates. Tiziana, Stefano and Diana join the Company, working in different fields.

1995, The Frescobaldi family and the Robert Mondavi family of Napa Valley, California, form a joint-venture, Luce Della Vite, to produce top quality Italian wines. The two families acquire a 42 hectare property in Montalcino, adjacent to the Frescobaldi Castel Giocondo estate, with the goal of producing Luce, a Super Tuscan blend of Sangiovese and Merlot.

1996, The Frescobaldis and the Mondavis officially introduce the newly formed company, Luce Della Vite s.r.l., to members of the international trade and press, on April 14th, at a gala event in Verona.

 

Giovanni Geddes da Filicaia is named Chief Executive Officer of Marchesì de’ Frescobaldi s.p.a.

1997, The Frescobaldi – Mondavi partnership presents its first wine, Luce, releasing the 1993 and 1994 vintages together in wooden 6 bottle cases.

1998, The Frescobaldi-Mondavi partnership releases the second joint-venture wine, Lucente, an ultra-premium blend of Sangiovese and Merlot. Marchesi de’ Frescoballdi acquires the Santa Maria Estate (52 hectares) in the Maremma (South of Tuscany ) to produce Morellino di Scansano.

1999, Frescobaldi presents F&F, together with stylist Gianfranco Ferre, in Milan, Berlin, New York and Tokyo. F&F is the symbol of an Italian taste and style, a special wine to celebrate the New Millennium, a Brunello di Montalcino Castel Giocondo Riserva ’93, with a label and packaging designed by Gianfranco Ferre.
The Frescobaldi - Mondavi partnership acquires the 316 hectare La Capitana estate in Magliano, a commune located within Province of Grosseto. The estate is situated in the heart of the Morellino di Scansano production area which is located near the coast in southern Tuscany.Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi opens the first Wine Bar at the Fiumicino airport in Rome.

2000, Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi’s history is studied by the Harvard University Business School. The study leads to the publication of a Case History.The Frescobaldis celebrate their commitment to promoting the fine art of cuisine with the Wine and Stars event at the Castello di Nipozzano on June 17th.
The event brought together the talent of 4 of the world’s greatest chefs (Charlie Palmer – USA, Annie Feolde – Italy, Hans Haas – Germany and Nobu - Japan) who prepared a spectacular menu for 500 special guests. The event was followed by national and international press.

2000, Marchesi de Frescobaldi acquires 70% of the Attems Company state in the Collio Region (north eastern Friuli VG) to produce great whites from that region.Lamaione 97, a pure Merlot from Castel Giocondo (Montalcino) was rated 96/100 points by the Wine Spectator.The first vineyards are planted at La Capitana Estate, in the Maremma (South of Tuscany).The Frescobaldi wines continue to receive numerous awards and prizes. Laudemio Extra Virgin Olive Oil receives the Golden Award at the New York Fancy Food Show in the summer of 2001.

2002, Marchesi de Frescobaldi acquires on a 50-50 joint venture with the Robert Mondavi Winery, the Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, located in Bolgheri. The wine of Tenuta dell’Ornellaia has been awarded as “number one” wine of the world by the Wine Spectator. (see Estates).

 

In a joint venture with the Marchi family in 2002 a partnership agreement has been signed to put up a new company to produce high quality wines. Marchesi de Frescobaldi owns a stake of 55% in the new company named Tenute di Nugola (Livorno). (See Estates).The Frescobaldi Wine Bar & Restaurant opens, in May, in the centre of Florence (off Piazza della Signoria).In November, the second Frescobaldi Wine Bar, at Fiumicino Airport, is opened in the International Terminal.

 

2004, The book “The Frescobaldi, a Florentine Family”, written by Dino Frescobaldi and Francesco Solinas, is published by Le Lettere, in Italian and English.Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi acquires full control of Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, one of the most prestigious wine producing estates of Tuscany. (See Estates).

2006, The latest generation of Frescobaldis is gently taking over the family’s heritage. Fortunately there are plenty of them. We have listed some below, under WHO’S WHO ? Their future is assured, hopefully, for the next 1,000 years!

WHO’S WHO ?
We can really take things today from Lamberto and Anna Frescobaldi. Lamberto was the President of the Bank of Tuscany. He was badly wounded in World War Two. They had no less than 7 children: Dino, Vittorio, Maria, Teresa, Piero, Ferdinando and Leonardo. Today, the President is Vittorio (born 1928) and two of his sons are the Vice Presidents: Ferdinando who looks after Consortia and Groups, and Leonardo (my friend) who is Director of Sales and Marketing.

The Chief Executive Officer (Managing Director) is, for the first time in their family history, not a member of the family. He is Giovanni Geddes da Filicaia.Following on from the above, we have Sergio Benedetti, who looks after Administration and Finance and Lamberto Frescobaldi, who is on production and who works with one of the most important men in the whole company - Niccolò d’Afflitto - the company oenologist and winemaker.

Tiziana Frescobaldi looks after Communications and Press Relations, and it was she who so charmingly and graciously received me and gave me all this information, together with Lamberto. Giampiero looks after Marketing. Stefano Benini oversees a goodly number of overseas markets.

To take Lamberto’s children in order :
Dino (N° 1), married to Lisa Rosselli Del Turco, has three daughters, one of which is the Tiziana (see above).

 

The other two, Lucrezia and Dianora live in Rome.Vittorio (N° 2), is married to Bona, who herself is concerned with the cultural programmes. They have 4 children. Lamberto (described above) is their son and there is also his sister, Diana, who is the Frescobaldi Special Projects Manager.

 

This gives her the responsibility for the Wine Bars in Florence and at Rome’s Fiumicino airport. Two other sisters are not involved.

Maria (N° 3) has 3 daughters and two sons. Her son, Stefano, is the Export Manager for some of the major export countries.Teresa (N° 4), was bought out by the other members of the family.Piero (N° 5), was tragically killed, aged 28, in a car accident.Ferdinando (N° 6), (Vice-President) married twice. One of his sons, Piero, lives in England and is involved in the Frescobaldi Website.

 

Leonardo, the youngest (N° 7), who is the other Vice-President, married Cristiana and they have a brilliant daughter. Although she is not involved with the company, she teaches at Universities throughout Europe.

Leaving the family for a moment, we come to Niccolò d’Afflitto, chief wine maker for the entire panoply of Frescobaldi estates. He is practically a flying winemaker in his own right, so many properties does he have to oversee! He started here, in 1991, at Castel Giocondo, and, in July 1995, was promoted to run the entire Frescobaldi wine making programme.
He is both a brilliant and an invaluable asset to the Frescobaldi Empire.I regret that the above is something of an indigestible mouthful, but Frescobaldis are thick on the ground and each has his own important role to play and must not be forgotten. Certainly one of the major reasons for their great success is that the family stick together and their relationships one with the other are extremely close-knit.

 

HISTORY OF THE COMPANY
The history of the company is that of the family. They have never been bought or sold. Thus everything concerning the history of the company, that we have space for in this article, is included in the TIMELINE above.

 

Suffice it to say that the family formed a Joint Stock Company, in 1980, entirely owned by five bothers and sisters of the Frescobaldi family : Dino, Vittorio, Maria, Ferdinando and Leonardo, as well as Bona Marchi, Vittorio’s wife.

ESTATES OF THE FESCOBALDI COMPANY
The company has truly a multitude of estates. Although each one, in a perfect article, should receive the same detailed analysis of its soil, its vineyards, its grape varieties and its wine making techniques, as I give to a Château in Bordeaux, this is impossible and I simply give the very briefest of overviews.

 

We will take the properties from North to South in Tuscany, but first there is one that is actually outside Tuscany.

TENUTA ATTEMS, in Friuli. Partly bought in 2000. The Attems family retained a shareholding. This is a D.O.C. Collio, which is famous for its fresh white wine. There are 52 hectare of vines on the 75 hectare estate. It is their ONLY property outside Tuscany. A new cellar is being built here.

CASTELLO DI POMINO, A property that has been in the family for almost 200 years. There are 107 hectares of vines on the vast 1,458 hectare estate. It came into the family when Angiolo Frescobaldi married Leonia degli Albizzi. It is a jewel in their crown. It came down in the family to their son Ferdinand, who died in 1942, and then through Lamberto, who died in 1959, and finally to the present generation.

CORTE, A small property north of Florence, in the MUGELLO. 20 hectares are planted with vines on the 200 hectare estate. This is one of the original properties, which has been in the family for no less than 700 YEARS! This time a small jewel, but a precious one!

CASTELLO DI NIPOZZANO, Another magnificent 626 hectare property, which also came with Leonia degli Albizzi when she married Angiolo. The castle was built 1,000 years ago. It has been in the family therefore for the same length of time as Pomino, and followed the same path. Today there are 213 hectares under vines.

TENUTA CASTIGLIONI, The very oldest of all the family estates and possessions. It dates back to their very roots. It is of inestimable sentimental value to them. Leonardo lives there in summer and its first stone dates back to 1029. Over 1000 years of history!! The property comprises 513 hectares of which 148 are vineyards in production.

CASTEL GIOCONDO, An estate in the famous Brunello di Montalcino area of Tuscany. The property covers 815 hectares, of which 235 are under vine and 151 enjoy the D.O.C.G. Brunello appellation.

 

This is a much younger story, which got under way, in 1974. At that time there were less than 200 hectares of Brunello vineyards in total. Frescobaldi saw the potential. Later, the name and the wine caught on and both plantations and prices rocketed skywards. The estate, almost completely unknown, had passed through several hands before VITTORO bought it for the Frescobaldi Company, on 29th May 1989, at an auction sale.

LUCE DELLA VITE, This is a company, but also an estate.Luce della Vite was established, in 1995, fruit of a close relationship between Frescobaldi and the Robert Mondavi Winery. In accord with the joint venture agreement, Luce Della Vite aimed to produce Tuscan wines of unexcelled quality.In 1966, the venture acquired LUCE, a 42-hectare property with 16 hectare of vineyard.
Luce lies near Castel Giocondo, in the Montalcino district. Luce also became the name of the first wine made from Merlot and Sangiovese. A blend of the 1993 and 1994 was released in 1997.In 1998, Luce Della Vite produced Lucente, a Merlot and Sangiovese blend.Then, in 2002, it acquired the Cavallino estate.

The property totals 150 hectares, but only 9.5 are planted with vines.On March 1st 2005, Frescobaldi finalised an agreement for the purchase of 50% of the shares of Luce Della Vite, the totality of the shares held by the Robert Mondavi Corporation (now owned by Constellation Brands).Specifically, Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi SpA transferred the same amount of shares to the Mondavi Investment Partner LLC, the personal company established by Michael Mondavi and his immediate family (wife and children) to complete the transaction.
Michael started this company after leaving the Robert Mondavi Corporation. Frescobaldi today has a majority shareholding in the company Luce Della Vite.(I put in this rather long explanation because a lot of people seem confused by the situation. When you read the above you can hardly blame them.Some replanting is being done here at present. When this is finished the estate will have 35 hectares of vineyards.

TENUTA DI ORNELLAIA, As I am sure you all know, this simply fantastic estate used to belong to Ludovico Antinori, brother of Piero (see ANTINORI here among our FIVE WINES). He founded it, in 1981, in Bolgheri. On April 1st 2005, Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi successfully completed negotiations with Constellation Brands to acquire the remaining 50% share previously held by the American Group.
Following the acquisition of the Robert Mondavi Corporation by Constellation Brands in December 2004, Frescobaldi exercised its option to acquire the share of the Robert Mondavi Corporation in Ornellaia. This was motivated by the wish to avoid any distress to the magnificent property of Ornellaia. The agreement returned Tenuta Ornellaia to “Italian hands”. Ornellaia retains management independence.

In 2006, a sub-holding company was formed – Tenuta di Toscana. This has three partners: Frescobaldi, Folio Fine Wine Importers (Michael Mondavi’s relatively new personal company) and SPI (the Russian owners of Stolichnaya Vodka).Frescobaldi own 72% of Tenuta di Toscana. Luce, Ornellaia and Castel Giocondo have been put into this company.More important than all this is the wine.
One of the very greatest wines of Italy situated in Bolgheri, in southern Tuscany. My wife and I had the pleasure of staying there, as their guests, when visiting Bolgheri and Anthony Chicheportiche enjoyed a frank and revealing interview with Ludovico Antinori. The estate has 91 hectares of great vineyards and produces Ornellaia, and Le Serre Nuove, the second wine. It also produces the legendary Masseto IGT, 100% Merlot, which dates from 1996.

TENUTA DI SANTA MARIA, Here we have gone south to the Maremma, to Morellino di Scansano, in Southern Tuscany. This is one of the relatively new appellations of Italy. An area of sun, sea, mountains and heat, the Maremma used to be a malaria infested swamp, but since it has been cleared it has been found to have fabulous terroir for fine wine, and many major wine producers are establishing themselves here.
Frescobaldi purchased land here, in 1997, and then more, in 1999. The very beautiful, wild and savage estate totals 400 hectares of splendid country, out of which just 55 hectares of the best soil have now been selected and planted with Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon.Their first vintage was the 2000 and this is now available on the market.A new cellar is at present being built and a huge launch is planned by the company for 2008.

TENUTA DI NUGOLA, in the Colle Salvetti, Livorno. (Joint Ownership, 55% Frescobaldi and 45% the Marchi family).This does NOT follow the north to south pattern that I established, but is situated on the Tuscan coast, right up near Livorno.

A new project and a new wine, which is being launched this year as it was only acquired in February 2005. Here there are 92 hectares of vines.

OTHER ESTATES, I am not quite sure why these other estates are given less importance, but here they are : IN THE RUFINA DISTRICT, REMOLE, MASSARICCIA, VALIANO, MONTAGNANA.

 

In the words of Frescobaldi “These are our less important estates and they do not produce their own estate wines. Their production contributes to the wines of our other estates.

Remole is partly produced with Frescobaldi grapes and partly with grapes bought from other producers in the Tuscany wine producing areas.All of the above is quite amazing for one single family.

 

The estates, between them, cover some 5,000 hectares of land, with 1,164 hectares of vineyards. It is quite clear therefore why I cannot go into any more detail about each of them!In addition, we must not forget the olives. Some 250 hectares throughout, producing some 200,000 litres of Virgin Olive Oil. Frescobaldi belongs to the LAUDEMIO Consortium for fine olive oil.They also make both Grappa and Sparkling Wine.


SOIL
One of the greatest differences between Bordeaux and Tuscany is that the land in Bordeaux is much more EVEN. We do not have mountains; we do not have vines on the sea. In Tuscany the land was not uncovered by the sea when the sea receded. In Tuscany the terrain comes from compression. The hills and mountains were squeezed up. They are not round and uniform.

The major result of this is that you have many different soils just in one single vineyard, even when you have located the land that is ideal for growing vines. This makes life extremely complicated.

 

A good winemaker must analyse his soils and get to know them. Today, a huge amount of professional “coring” has been done to analyse the soils to considerable depth. Ripening curves have been established and analysed.
Very meticulous parcelar selection is essential to make fine wine. Southern Tuscany has volcanic soils, excellent for White Grapes. This potential is only now being understood and exploited.There are so many different regions in Tuscany, from Chianti to the Maremma that one cannot begin to generalise about the soil.

 

What is important is that, wherever you wish to grow quality wine, you must study the soil’s depth, composition, complexity, water retention, exposure and fertility, together with the climate and the slopes that go with it.

 

D’Afflitto says “complexity comes naturally and is positive, but it must be understood and extremely skilfully managed to give the best results”.Until recently Southern Tuscany was poor.

 

A lot of people left. The Maremma, as already mentioned, used to be malarial. Also, for those that remained and lived there, the first objective was to have enough to eat and drink.

Therefore they used the richest land and the highest yielding grape varieties available. One of these was SANGIOVESE.Over 10% of all vineyards in Italy are planted with Sangiovese, and of the 48 known clones, only 3 produce small grapes. The Sangiovese Grosso is therefore almost the universal variety.

 

One of the problems of this grape is early bud-break, which makes it particularly prone to frost. Therefore the Sangiovese is usually planted up the slopes and the Trebbiano on the lower ground.

Trebbiano has bud-break as much as one month later than Sangiovese and is also a very heavy cropper.Ideally, d’Afflitto thinks that Sangiovese should be planted on very well drained soils, preferably with south-west exposure. It will then produce naturally smaller berries.

It must be put under at least SOME stress to produce best results. It can then express itself to the full with its power, aromas and concentration.In an ideal world one would select the finest clones and plant them in only the finest areas on the finest soils. Regretfully, commercially this is pure utopia and on the 1,100 hectares of Frescobaldi vineyards we have every imaginable type of soil at one point or another.

VITICULTURE
The multiple estates have been listed above, but let us look a little at the viticulture.The planting laws of Tuscany, and indeed of Chianti, are extremely complex. For Chianti Classico, it is no longer permitted to plant a small percentage of white grapes. The Trebbiano was used, in the past, to increase the much admired, fresh acidity. The old “governo” system has been completely discarded. Nobody seems to want “frizzantino” in their Chianti anymore.
The law now allows up to 20% non Sangiovese varieties. Is it any wonder that so many Tuscans make IGT? Knowing that Merlot likes clay, d’Afflitto uses quite a lot where appropriate. He also uses a certain amount of Cabernet Franc. He uses Canaiolo of the N6 and N8 clones. I mention these clones because the N stands for Nippozano (one of their estates mentioned above). He has a touch of Malvasia Rossa.

D’Afflitto is extremely careful about clone selection, as those from the Universities, in the 1960s, were entirely quantity orientated.Frescobaldi, overall, uses Double Cordon pruning (Cordon Royat) and also Double Guyot for their very best vines and wines. With the latter they get smaller berries and smaller cluster sizes.

Grassing between rows was started, in 1992, and was gradually increased. Today, however, they are retreating again as d’Afflitto finds that it encourages shallower roots and thus makes the vine more sensitive to both rain and drought.

 

He finds that he does not need yield control as much as cluster thinning and pruning. In the Maremma he often does Spring pruning.Plantation density is now considerably greater than before. Anything from 5,000 vines right up to 10,000 vines per hectare, depending upon all the different and relevant factors.All the usual operations are done in all the vineyards: green pruning etc.

 

He also does shoot positioning and he finds that raising the wires in mid-July is one of the most costly operations of the whole year. They do use herbicides, ROUND-UP mainly. They adhere strictly to the 1995 European legislation, although d’Afflitto says that on the whole Italy has much stricter rules and regulation than France on herbicides and pesticides and treatments generally.

 

Some Esca, which has been encountered in places, comes regretfully from the nurseries!

Flavescence Doré is also, sadly, on its way here.Sexual confusion is used mainly in the olive trees rather than the vines. He has found that Bacillus Turingensis generally eats and then becomes sterile. To show the vitality of Frescobaldi today, one has only to understand that, since 1990, they have planted, or replanted, no less than 950 hectares of vines throughout their many properties.

WINEMAKING
Hand-picking of all the grapes for all the finest wines. However, with such vast areas of vineyards, both time and momentum dictates that a number of vineyards are machine harvested. These machines can be so finely regulated today that almost all the rotten grapes can be eliminated. Some 35% of the total is machine picked.

For hand-picking they like to use “regulars” or what they term “historic pickers”. “Bad pickers are worse than bad machines”.Sorting is done on arrival at the cellars.

 

Not all their vineyards have the same sophisticated equipment, but the grapes for their finest wines go onto the classical, vibrating, sorting belt and then through the destalking machine.

 

They then pass along the “grapes only” sorting table on their way to the fermenting vats. Today it is possible to replace the first sorting table with a mechanical “sorter-vibrator”.

 

The grapes are not cooled first, but pressed and the juice then cooled. After this they effect “saignée”, as required, and get lots of nice, fresh Rosé.The juice goes into mainly stainless steel tanks, but a few, at different properties, are cement. They are filled up and fermentation is allowed free reign up to 30°C maximum.

 

They inoculate only the first vats with some starting yeasts. They do not use enzymes for the red wines, but they do for the white wines as usual. They like the malo-lactic fermentation to take place as soon as the alcoholic fermentation starts to tail-off.

 If the wine is particularly rich and alcoholic, or if the malo-lactic fermentation has some other problem in getting under way, then for their finest wines they may transfer them to barrel and carry out the operation there.

 

Normally, as can be seen, it takes place in vat.At Ornellaia, they use vertical presses, but all the other properties use horizontal, pneumatic presses.
D’Afflitto does not believe in systematic racking as he feels that there is a risk of impoverishing the wine. He does it when he feels that the wine requires it, and even tolerates a mild degree of reduction. It depends upon the future of the wine in question.

 

If it is a wine destined to spend a long time in barrel and then in bottle, then NOTHING must be done that could impoverish it.He uses barrels from quite a lot of coopers. Each estate has several, all adapted to their needs.

Mainly French, with some American, all depending upon the wine. 10% American would be the maximum for any single wine. Generally speaking medium and slow toasting, but Medium Plus for Merlot and NEVER for Sangiovese.He USED to do fining with egg-whites for Cabernet and for Merlot, but NEVER for Sangiovese.

However, he finds the results are better in the immediate, but once again the wine has been impoverished and will not age so long or so well. He now does it as little as humanly possible. Ideally, he would like all his cellars to be deep for slower ageing. Most of his wines are filtered, but his Brunello Reserva NEVER.D’Afflitto, with great modesty and discretion, insists that all of the above operations have decisions taken based on tasting, wine by wine, variety by variety and situation by situation. No rules are cast in iron.


PHILOSOPHY
(As given to me by Vittorio Frescobaldi, President).“Our style is to let the land speak. We have been farmers for many generations, and we have always paid close attention to every aspect, every favourable factor, when we plant new vineyards. In selecting vineyard sites, we closely evaluate the suitability of each type of soil, which vary in composition and in microclimate, from estate to estate, and even within each and every estate”.“

We have tremendous respect for each production zone’s individual history. We want to faithfully mirror that heritage in our wines”.

“Our goal is to achieve the highest level of quality by respecting to the full the fruit that produces them, the grapes that express the personality of each plot of land. We strive to bring to the consumer that distinctiveness and also that trustworthiness”.

“For us, the achievement of the absolute highest quality is a constant and daily challenge, and recent years have seen successes in this direction. Nevertheless, we have no intention of resting upon our laurels; we are convinced that many of our wines will reach even higher levels of quality”.

LAMBERTO FRESCOBALDI says, “We are scared of producing dull wines. Our wines must have soul. This does not always please everybody, not even my family, but each estate must express itself and we must approach it by asking its permission to enter with our hats in our hands”.


MARKETING
The USA market comprises some 12-13% of their total business. They changed to work with FOLIO, in April 2005. In 2006 they did more business than they did in their second year with Mondavi. They are more than happy with their association with Michael Mondavi.Today, Frescobaldi’s wines are distributed in 65 countries.


TASTING NOTES

2003 CASTELLO DI NIPOZZANO, CHIANTI CLASSICO DOCG.
85% Sangiovese + Merlot, Canaiolo and Malvasia.
COLOUR : Beautiful, vivid, red-brick and bright cherry colour. Most attractive.
NOSE : Clean, fresh, vigorous and bright. Vibrant red fruit. Deliciously vital.
PALATE : An attack of ripe, cherry fruit followed by more depth and seriousness. Generous on the palate, but with delicious, Sangiovese style, bright acidity to give the wine vibrancy. Fine balance and fine purity in the fruit. Long in the mouth with a strong finish. Pure Sangiovese cherry in the end mouth. Hugely successful.

2003 MONTESODI, CHIANTI CLASSICO DOCG.
100% Sangiovese.
COLOUR : The brilliant, relatively light, vivid, ruby-red of fine Sangiovese.
NOSE : Deep and relatively powerful nose, which somehow call Cabernet to mind although there is none in the wine. Fresh, fragrant and fruity, but with authority rather than charm.
PALATE : The palate is deep, warm velvet. It strokes the senses. None the lass it has a powerful and solid structure. The “texture” is thicker than the first mouth-feel suggests. The flavours recall wild cherry and a touch of Amarone. Pure Sangiovese finish with the biter cherry grip. There is a balance between sweetness of fruit and attractive Sangiovese bitterness. A haunting wine, but fine and generous and can be laid down for several years.

2004 MORMORETTO, IGT.
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc.
I had to choose between the 2003 and 2004 as we only put 4 tasting notes for each of the FIVE WINES. Both are fine, but I chose the 2004, which has a little more refinement and elegance.
COLOUR : Fabulous, vivid, brilliant cherry-red. Youthful and fresh.
NOSE : Clean pure, fine, gracious and vibrant fruit. Generous, yet restrained. Delicious freshness, which follows through on the palate. A pleasure to the senses.
PALATE : The shape of the wine is similar to the 2003, but it is already more approachable and more refined. A wonderful purity of fruit gives it nobility and graciousness. None the less it is deeply rich and almost opulent. So pure is the fruit that it is like crunching into fresh grapes. There are also floral tones. The fruit and the tannins are becoming silky. This is a splendid wine !

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