Sassotondo

From city careers to the land — 1990

Carla Benini and her husband, Edoardo Ventimiglia, arrived at the property in 1990. Benini, an agronomist born in Trento, wanted to exchange a working life divided among offices, aircraft and hotels for work in the countryside. Ventimiglia was a documentary filmmaker in Rome, working through an old family film studio; his grandfather had been Alfred Hitchcock’s first cameraman. Over time, both lost interest in their urban careers and committed themselves to the agricultural project.

The starting point was austere: 72 ha of land that had been abandoned for years, a house in poor condition and only 1 ha of vineyard. The property nevertheless included an old cellar excavated in tufo and the established San Lorenzo vineyard, whose old Ciliegiolo vines became central to Sassotondo’s identity.

Organic conversion and new plantings — 1994–1996

The farm obtained organic certification in 1994. San Lorenzo has been farmed organically since that year, while vines selected from its best old Ciliegiolo plants later supplied material for continuing massal selection.

In 1995, the T 19, Isolina vecchia and Sperimentale blocks were planted. The following year brought the planting of Murata, a small Merlot vineyard trained as alberello.

The first harvest and bottle — 1997

The restored underground cellar received Sassotondo’s first harvest in 1997. The estate’s first bottle followed, marking the transition from the rehabilitation of an abandoned farm to an operating wine estate.

Vineyard development — 1999–2003

Senza Fine was planted in 1999 with Sangiovese, Ciliegiolo, Merlot and Teroldego. Regina followed in 2003 with Ciliegiolo and Teroldego. The estate continued propagating Ciliegiolo through massal selection from the old San Lorenzo vines, choosing plants with loose bunches, thick skins and the desired flavour profile. Ciliegiolo plantings established at Sovana between 1995 and 2003 descend from this continuing selection.

Biodynamics — 2007

Biodynamic practices were introduced in the vineyards in 2007, alongside the certified-organic farming system already in place.

Recovery of Nocchianello Nero — 2010 onward

In 2010, Sassotondo returned Nocchianello Nero to cultivation. Propagation material came from the CREA collection at Arezzo, which had previously recovered the variety from old local vineyards. Sassotondo grafted it into several vineyard rows; old individual plants also survive among the old Ciliegiolo in Vigna San Lorenzo.

Small experimental vinifications of Nocchianello Nero were made annually from 2011 through 2019. The variety is vigorous and late ripening, reaching maturity at least seven days after Sangiovese. Its later cycle was valued as a means of avoiding the highest temperatures during increasingly early ripening seasons.

Further planting and preservation — 2015 onward

Isolina nuova and Vigna tra gli olivi were planted in 2015. Viognier was subsequently introduced into the white vineyards.

Preservation work continues in San Lorenzo. Missing old vines are replaced with young plants propagated from that vineyard’s own Ciliegiolo, while another section has been replanted at 4,800 vines per hectare using massal selections of the old material.

Carla Benini and Edoardo Ventimiglia continue to develop the project with their collaborators and with their friend and oenologist Attilio Pagli.

Sassotondo occupies 72 ha across the municipal boundaries of Sorano and Pitigliano in the Province of Grosseto, in the inland Maremma Toscana and the upper valley of the Fiora. The property lies close to the Etruscan settlements of Pitigliano, Sovana and Sorano, approximately 50 km from both Orvieto and the Tyrrhenian coast.

Although classified as hilly by elevation, the terrain is more precisely a succession of elevated plateaux separated by deep ravines. Intermittent watercourses have cut these ravines into the tufo bedrock.

The estate stands on the outer reaches of the volcanic basin of Bolsena. Volcanic tufo is the defining material: the vineyards grow over it, the houses were built from it, and the cellar was excavated directly into it. Across the vineyards, soils are described as medium-textured volcanic tufo. Other vineyard descriptions characterize them as loose, acidic or subacid, naturally low in organic fertility and rich in minerals including potassium, magnesium and sodium.

All nine named vineyard blocks are at approximately 300 m above sea level. Most rows run north–south, while Regina and Murata run east–west. The old San Lorenzo vineyard faces the historic settlement of Pitigliano.

The name Sassotondo comes from a large, round piece of tufo standing in one of the fields, its shape softened by weathering. It serves as the estate’s symbol.

Sassotondo has been certified organic since 1994. The agricultural system combines vineyards and olive trees with arable land, extensive pasture and woodland across the 72 ha property. Biodynamic methods have been practised in the vineyards since 2007.

The estate’s principal training systems are Guyot, alberello and spurred cordon. Planting layouts vary by parcel and variety, from 2.75 × 1 to 2.25 × 0.75. The vineyards are generally at 300 m above sea level.

Ciliegiolo is propagated through continuing massal selection from Vigna San Lorenzo. Selection focuses on old plants with loose bunches, thick skins and the desired taste. Missing vines in the old vineyard are replaced with young plants produced from its own Ciliegiolo, preserving the site’s plant material rather than substituting unrelated selections.

Nocchianello Nero was reintroduced in 2010 by grafting material from the CREA collection at Arezzo into several rows. Its vigorous growth, thick fig-like leaves, long shoots, resistant berries and ripening at least seven days after Sangiovese make it a focus of adaptation work under seasons marked by earlier ripening.

Grapes are harvested and selected manually. Separate picking and vinification by variety are used where the composition of a wine requires it.

The winery occupies an old underground cellar excavated completely into a volcanic-tufo escarpment on the estate. A long corridor leads to the final barrel room, approximately 14 m below ground and 30 m from the entrance. This naturally subterranean environment provides stable, cool conditions and the humidity and temperature required for barrel maturation and bottle ageing.

Harvesting and grape selection are manual. Varieties are commonly handled separately before blending. Fermentations take place without added commercial yeast, relying on the yeasts associated with the grapes and cellar.

Steel tanks are central to both red and white production. White lots may receive short cold skin contact, while some Greco remains with its skins for a longer period. Fermentations can proceed slowly at low cellar temperatures and, in some cases, continue for more than two months or into January. Lees ageing follows fermentation for selected white lots.

Red fermentations and macerations are conducted in steel. Depending on the intended result, maturation ranges from a few months in stainless steel to extended élevage in wood. The cellar uses barriques, second-use wood and 1,000-litre Slavonian oak barrels. Certain wines also receive a further period of ageing in bottle in the cool underground cellar.

The resulting approach combines separate vinification, spontaneous fermentation, temperature moderation from the underground environment and vessel selection according to the structure and intended ageing of each lot.

Sassotondo’s project is built around expressing the volcanic-tufo landscape through locally rooted grape varieties and limited intervention in both vineyard and cellar. The estate presents the environment as powerful and, in some respects, extreme: tufo lies beneath the vines, emerges throughout the property and forms the fabric of both its buildings and underground cellar.

The desired wines are fine and elegant rather than simply forceful, with natural concentration, savoury character and spice. Ciliegiolo occupies a central place in this vision. Sassotondo values the variety for its immediate fruit and white-pepper character when young, as well as its capacity to become smooth, spicy and more complex with age.

Preservation and experimentation coexist. The old San Lorenzo material is maintained through massal selection and the replacement of missing vines with plants derived from the same vineyard. At the same time, Nocchianello Nero has been recovered from a research collection and tested through repeated small vinifications. Organic certification, biodynamic practice and the mixed agricultural landscape of vines, olives, pastures, fields and woods form the environmental basis of the project.

Carla Benini and Edoardo Ventimiglia treat Sassotondo as an evolving undertaking, continually reconsidered with their collaborators and oenologist Attilio Pagli rather than as a fixed formula.