“No other Italian wine appellation matches Chianti Classico at the moment for its sense of excitement, innovation and, dare I say it, unity of vision.” Monica Larner – Wine Advocate
Montevertine is nestled in the heart of the Chianti hills, in the town of Radda in Chianti, at 425 meters above sea level. The estate exclusively grows grape varieties native to the Chianti area: Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino. At Montevertine, simplicity, respect, extreme care about details and know-how are the guiding principles that inspire our daily work. The winemaking method is extremely traditional and always the same, since our very first harvests. The hand-picked grapes are fermented in vitrified concrete vats, without temperature control and by performing two pumping-over operations per day to keep the cap of skins moist for a gentler extraction of tannins from the skins. Montevertine Le Pergole Torte was first released in 1977. It was the first 100% Sangiovese wine to be produced in the Radda in Chianti area. The grapes come from our oldest vineyards, planted between 1968 and 1999. It is aged for one year in Allier barriques and one year in Slavonian oak barrels.
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Castello di Ama has 75 hectares under vine, around the village of Ama. The vineyards lie between 420 and 527 metres above sea level and extend across four valleys referred to by their traditional names of Bellavista, San Lorenzo, La Casuccia and Montebuoni. 320,000 bottles are produced on average every year, divided between Chianti Classico and IGT labels. The first purebred Tuscan Merlot...L’Apparita became an important cult wine in 1985, its debut year. The vineyard in front of the winery is called “L’Apparita” because the tower of Siena’s city hall appears in the distance at the highest point in the parcel. The open lyre-trained vines extend across approximately 3 hectares at 501 metres above sea level. The rows are planted in a N/S direction.
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The land on which the Castello dei Rampolla farm stands has been owned by the family since 1739. Much history has passed over these lands, but that of our family starts in the mid-1960’s with the dream of one man, Alceo di Napoli Rampolla, who wished to create a great wine. In 1975 our first bottles of Chianti Classico were produced. This was a time when Chianti Classico was struggling to assert itself and to earn the respect it deserved. Alceo then had an intuition and decided, with the help of a great winemaker Giacomo Tachis , to be the first in the area to plant Cabernet Sauvignon and to blend it with Sangiovese.
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Located at Monti in Chianti, considered one of the region’s grand crus, Rocca di Montegrossi is named after the historic fortress (La Rocca) built by Marco’s ancestor, Geremia, during the Longobard period (600-800 AD). Marco is part of the Ricasoli family that wrote the story of Chianti Classico, creating the formula for the wine we know today at the site of what is now his San Marcellino vineyard. The soil here is incredibly rocky, forcing the roots deep and resulting in naturally low yields. Marco farms organically and has built his own large cisterns to gather rainwater, along with using biofuel for machinery. The wines here display great concentration, with rich velvety fruit and an underlying freshness and finesse that rewards cellaring.
