Storia
Ancient origins of Sovana
The estate lies in a landscape first inhabited by the Etruscans and subsequently incorporated into the Roman world. Its historical identity is inseparable from Sovana and the settlements built into and above the area's volcanic tuff.
594: the Aldobrandeschi connection
In 594, the Lombards conquered Sovana and assigned it to the powerful Aldobrandeschi family. Fattoria Aldobrandesca takes its name from this family.
Around the year 1000
Around 1000, the territory's possessions expanded with the support of Hildebrand of Sovana, later Pope Gregory VII. He directed privileges from the Papal State toward his birthplace, and Sovana became the capital of a wealthy and powerful county.
Siena, Florence and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany
Sovana and the neighboring tuff settlements subsequently passed first under Siena and then Florence, eventually becoming part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Fattoria Aldobrandesca occupies the center of this historic and viticulturally important landscape.
The modern wine project
The modern estate project is centered on interpreting the volcanic territory around Sovana through two varieties. Marchesi Antinori undertook the recovery and renewed study of Aleatico, an ancient variety rooted in Tuscan tradition, while developing Malbec as a comparatively new presence in Italian viticulture. Geological and oenological research identified the volcanic Maremma around the estate as a particularly suitable environment for Malbec.
The first vintage of the estate's Aleatico was produced in 1997. The subsequent portfolio expanded the exploration of the two varieties to include Aleatico-based sweet wine and rosé, alongside Malbec. The rosé project, A, appears in the estate's vintage archive from 2015 onward.
Terroir
Fattoria Aldobrandesca is in southern Tuscan Maremma, in the inland area known as the Etruscan Tuff Zone. This is distinct from the coastal image commonly associated with Maremma: the estate occupies a rural landscape shaped by volcanic tuff rather than coastal plains and pine forests.
The vineyards lie at the foot and on the slopes of the tuff spur crowned by the hilltop settlement of Sovana. Pitigliano, Sorano and Sovana are characteristic settlements built on or carved from steep tuff formations, giving the vineyard landscape a substantial archaeological and architectural context.
The vineyard terrain is described as flat or open, of volcanic origin, with tuffaceous subsoils. Its elevation is approximately 200 metres above sea level. Both Aleatico and Malbec are closely associated with this soil environment: Aleatico provides the link with the area's ancient Tuscan viticultural tradition, while geological and oenological research identified the volcanic terrain as well suited to Malbec.
Filosofia
Fattoria Aldobrandesca is conceived as an effort to interpret a territory rich in history through focused varietal research. Its central premise brings together recovery and experimentation: the recovery of Aleatico, an ancient and traditional Tuscan grape, and the development of Malbec in a volcanic environment where it has shown particular potential.
The Aleatico projects seek balance between the variety's pronounced aromatic identity and the qualities imparted by the estate's volcanic soils. The Malbec project grew from geological and oenological research intended to understand how a grape comparatively new to Italian viticulture could express this territory. Across both strands, the stated ambition is to translate the character of a newly explored wine territory into high-quality wines while maintaining a direct connection with Sovana's history and landscape.
Vini
A
Aleatico
