Argentiera

The Serristori legacy

The historical setting around Villa Donoratico predates the modern estate. The Serristori family acquired Donoratico in 1512 and built its villa there in 1660. The family subsequently played an important part in local scientific, agricultural and social life. The avenue now called Viale dei Pini was formerly known as Viale Serristori and remains one of the estate landscape’s defining features.

Establishing the modern vineyards

The first plantings in the approximately 40-hectare Argentiera viticultural area were made in 2000. This elevated, sea-facing sector became the foundation of the estate’s principal project.

Poggio ai Ginepri was the first wine produced by Argentiera, in 2002, using fruit from the area of the same name. It preceded the inaugural 2003 vintage of Argentiera Bolgheri DOC Superiore, the project around which the rest of the estate’s production subsequently developed.

Single-vineyard and varietal research

Ventaglio debuted with the 2015 vintage as the estate’s first single-vineyard label. The project draws on a decade of experience with monovarietal Cabernet Franc and comes from a 1.5-hectare, fan-shaped vineyard arranged around a mature holm oak.

From the 2015 Ventaglio vintage and the 2017 Argentiera vintage, individual bottles of these two labels began receiving Prooftag™ authentication seals. Each seal incorporates a unique Bubble Tag™, QR code and numerical code linked to bottle-specific information.

Scenario developed from research into Vermentino’s versatility, adaptability to Argentiera’s contrasting soils and capacity for evolution. Trials covered the 2020, 2021 and 2022 vintages and combined different fermentation and maturation vessels. The resulting 2022 wine became the estate’s Bolgheri DOC Bianco.

Position and relief

Tenuta Argentiera occupies the southern tip of the Castagneto Carducci territory on the Tuscan coast, within the Bolgheri DOC area. Its vineyards extend from sites less than 1 km from the shore to some of the denomination’s higher elevations, reaching 200 m above sea level. The land faces the Tyrrhenian and Ligurian seas, while the northern outlook extends as far as the Apuan Alps and the cellar terrace overlooks islands of the Tuscan Archipelago.

The vineyards form a broad, sea-facing amphitheatre or open conch. This configuration receives light reflected from the water, while the estate’s alternation of cultivated land, woodland and Mediterranean scrub creates corridors through which marine breezes travel throughout the year.

Meso-climate

Persistent sea winds help maintain mild, dry conditions and cool hot days during ripening. Pronounced day–night temperature variation during the maturation period is another defining natural resource. Vineyard orientation, elevation, proximity to the coast, surrounding vegetation and reflected marine light produce distinct microclimates across the estate.

Geological diversity

The 85 hectares of vines are divided into four principal viticultural areas with contrasting geomorphology. Near Donoratico and the sea, red aeolian sands predominate. Higher positions introduce continental sands, rocky clay, limestone, marl, shale and Lower Cretaceous flysch. The flysch is a sedimentary complex of limestone, marl and shale interlayered with sandstone and siliceous stones.

The Argentiera sector at 160–200 m has marl and shale intercalated with sandstone and siliceous rock. Ventaglio, at 120 m, is characterised by rocky clay and abundant calcareous cobbles of alluvial origin. Villa Donoratico progresses from continental sands in its lower bands toward increasingly flysch-rich transitional soils at higher elevations. Poggio ai Ginepri is dominated by Donoratico’s red aeolian sands, while marl-and-sandstone flysch emerges around Ceccosodo at approximately 60 m.

Vegetation and ecological setting

Mediterranean scrub, woods, olive trees, maritime-pine avenues and mature oaks surround and separate the vineyard sectors. Ancient oaks overlook the vines, a mature holm oak forms the centre of Ventaglio, and Viale dei Pini accompanies the lower Vermentino vineyards. The surrounding woodland functions as a substantial green buffer and oxygen-producing canopy. This mosaic supports biodiversity and helps shield the vines from harmful insects, wildlife pressure and climatic stress.

The estate’s agronomic approach is based on long-term observation of the complete ecosystem and the different life cycles operating within it. Scientific study and professional training are combined with close, timely observation of natural conditions.

Biodiversity is treated as a functional component of viticulture. The 153-ha property interweaves 85 ha of vines with Mediterranean scrub, woodland, olive trees, pine avenues and mature oaks. These habitats form a biological mosaic around the vineyards, while breaks in the vegetation create wind corridors. The resulting airflow helps keep conditions dry and limits pressure during sensitive phases of the growing cycle.

All harvest methods described for the estate’s wines involve manual picking. Different exposures and microzones are harvested independently when their fruit reaches suitable maturity; Ventaglio’s north- and south-facing sections, for example, were picked one week apart in 2018.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, work has also focused on reducing the effects of rising temperatures and irregular rainfall by improving the vines’ response to water stress and making use of their natural climatic adaptability. Measures identified in this work include soil management, fertilisation, management of the foliar canopy and micro-irrigation. During the exceptionally hot 2022 season, these measures, together with 42 mm of rain in mid-August, helped preserve healthy fruit without shrivelling.

The winery stands on the heights of the I Pianali hill. Its architecture takes its model from classical 16th-century Tuscan fortresses and includes a fermentation hall, barrel room, panoramic terrace and cellar spaces used for ageing and hospitality.

Harvesting is manual throughout the production methods described. Red-wine fermentations generally involve approximately 25 days of fermentation and maceration under temperature control, using stainless-steel tanks or, for selected lots, tapered French-oak vats. Depending on the project, malolactic conversion takes place in stainless steel, 225-litre French-oak barrels, or a combination of French and Austrian barrels and 500-litre tonneaux. Maturation vessels represented across production include stainless steel, used and other 225-litre French-oak barrels, and 500-litre French and Austrian tonneaux.

Vermentino research has expanded the cellar’s vessels beyond steel and conventional oak. The Scenario project was developed through experiments across the 2020, 2021 and 2022 vintages. For the 2022 culmination, part of the wine fermented and matured for about nine months in 320-litre, steam-bent, untoasted wooden vessels called Cigar barrels; the remainder used spherical 400-litre Clayver containers made from compact ceramic stoneware resembling natural granite. Both portions remained on fine lees. The elongated wooden vessel increases the wine’s contact with lees settled along its base, while the spherical stoneware vessel keeps the wine moving and allows the lees to contribute gently to structure. Bottle ageing followed maturation.

Historic vintages and special formats are preserved away from light at controlled temperature in the cellar vault. For bottle traceability, Argentiera from the 2017 vintage and Ventaglio from the 2015 vintage carry unique Prooftag™ seals incorporating Bubble Tag™, QR and numerical identifiers linked to bottle-specific records.