Storia
Development of the Maremma project
Tenuta Ghiaccio Forte is the Chia family's wine project in Maremma, centred on vineyards in the Scansano area. Its development reflects a long period of experimentation with varieties, clones and new plantings outside the family's Montalcino vineyards.
The estate's Syrah vineyard was established by the Chia family after a process described as the product of 20 years of research and a moment of inspiration. The site was selected for Syrah's naturally low-yielding character and for its position on a river plateau influenced alternately by the Mediterranean Sea and the hills around Monte Amiata.
2020 acquisition at Località Case Sparse
In November 2020, Filippo Chia and his family acquired a historic Trebbiano Toscano vineyard at Località Case Sparse in Scansano. Also known locally as Procanico, its vines were approximately 50 years old and the vineyard was described as one of the oldest of its kind in the area.
The 2021 vintage
Procanico from the newly acquired Scansano vineyard entered the family's white-wine production with the 2021 vintage. The same vintage marked the first release of the Maremma-grown Syrah as a separate varietal wine. Only 2,900 bottles of that inaugural Syrah were made.
The Maremma holdings also supply Petit Verdot and Syrah for red wines processed in Montalcino. From the 2019 vintage, Romito shifted to 100% Petit Verdot grown in Maremma, while Romitorio continued as a Syrah–Petit Verdot blend. Morellino di Scansano has likewise formed part of the Tenuta Ghiaccio Forte project, although no 2023 vintage was produced.
Terroir
Tenuta Ghiaccio Forte lies in the Scansano area of southern Tuscany, within Maremma. Its vineyards occupy a river plateau between the Mediterranean Sea, Monte Amiata and the Tuscan archipelago—a setting portrayed as a natural corridor between sea and mountain.
The soils have red clay at the surface and a deep layer of rounded stones. The Petit Verdot site is further described as having Pliocene soils composed of red clay and gravel.
Days are warm but moderated by maritime breezes. In the evening, cool, humid air descends from the hills and Monte Amiata, producing marked day–night temperature changes. Air currents therefore arrive from the sea or the mountain according to the time of day. These conditions allow the grapes to retain natural acidity as they ripen.
Mediterranean scrub surrounds the vines. Its aromatic, medicinal and flowering vegetation includes thyme, wild sage, wild plum, wild pear, Etruscan santolina, broom and spontaneous wildflowers.
Vinificazione
The Chia family selected and planted the Syrah site after sustained experimentation with varieties, clones and new vineyard plantings. Syrah is treated as a naturally low-yielding variety suited to the river plateau's red clay, rounded stones and alternating maritime and mountain air currents.
Harvesting is performed by hand. Grapes are picked at optimal ripeness while retaining the natural acidity encouraged by the site's day–night temperature differences. The surrounding Mediterranean scrub preserves a diverse population of aromatic, medicinal and flowering plants, including thyme, wild sage, wild fruit trees, Etruscan santolina, broom and wildflowers.
The Maremma grapes are transported to the Castello Romitorio cellar in Montalcino for vinification, bottling and maturation.
Hand-harvested Petit Verdot is selected in the Montalcino cellar and gently vinified in cement vats before maturation in wood. Syrah is likewise harvested by hand and vinified in Montalcino; the inaugural 2021 varietal release was matured in oak before bottling and cellar aging.
For the Syrah–Petit Verdot blend, fermentation takes place in stainless-steel tanks, followed by maturation in concrete before bottling.
Filosofia
Tenuta Ghiaccio Forte is conceived as a meeting of Tuscan agricultural tradition and experimentation in Maremma. Its stated objective for Syrah is purity and energy, with the vineyard's natural acidity, slender structure, complexity and length preserved in the finished wine.
The project treats winegrowing as a creative discipline requiring time, inspiration and imagination. Its development embraces continuing trials with new grape varieties, clones and plantings, while the surrounding landscape provides the quiet and physical setting needed for that work. The aim is not simply to grow an international variety in Tuscany, but to express the relationship between the river plateau, maritime air, mountain winds and Maremma's farming culture.