Castello di Fonterutoli

Before the Mazzei estate

Fonterutoli occupied a strategic position in the long contest between Florence and Siena. Peace treaties signed here in 1202 and 1208 transferred the Chianti territory to Florence. The traditional Black Rooster story also places the meeting of the Florentine and Sienese knights at Fonterutoli: the Florentine rider, dispatched early after a deliberately underfed black rooster crowed before dawn, reached almost to Siena. Florence consequently established its frontier along the Castellina–Radda–Gaiole line and adopted the Black Rooster for the Military and Administrative Alliance of Chianti.

Ser Lapo Mazzei and the earliest recorded Chianti wine

On 16 December 1398, correspondence between the notary Ser Lapo Mazzei and the merchant Francesco Datini recorded payment for six barrels of wine from Chianti. This is presented as the earliest known documentary use of Chianti as a wine-producing area. Ser Lapo was both a connoisseur and an active participant in the wine trade; surviving correspondence also reflects his concern with wine quality.

The estate from 1435

The Mazzei family has owned Castello di Fonterutoli and produced wine there since 1435. The property has remained under family stewardship for more than six centuries and is now associated with the family’s 25th generation of winemakers. Siepi has formed part of the family property since the same year and has long been treated as a model farm.

Philip Mazzei and an American viticultural legacy

Philip Mazzei was born at Poggio a Caiano on 25 December 1730. After working as a merchant in London and developing relationships with Benjamin Franklin and Virginian contacts, he devised a programme for cultivating Mediterranean plants in Virginia. In September 1773, with financing and the Grand Duke of Tuscany’s permission, he sailed for Virginia with vines, olive trees, ten vignerons and other materials. Thomas Jefferson persuaded him to settle beside Monticello and granted him 193 acres; by 1778, Mazzei had acquired roughly another 700 acres and named the farm Colle. He planted European vines there and established what is described as America’s first wine company. He also became a political activist, diplomat, writer and associate of Jefferson, Washington, Franklin and John Adams. He died in Pisa on 19 March 1816. A United States commemorative stamp, Patriot Remembered, marked the 250th anniversary of his birth in 1980. His viticultural connection with Fonterutoli was later commemorated through plantings of native estate vine material in Virginia by Francesco and Filippo Mazzei.

Experimentation and estate-defining wines

In 1981, Castello di Fonterutoli created Concerto di Fonterutoli while experimenting with new training systems and blends involving non-native grapes. The first trial comprised only 15 barriques—the first barriques used at Fonterutoli—and matured for 18 months in the historic cellars. Carla Mazzei chose the name Concerto after tasting the harmonious combination of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine began as Vino da Tavola and became one of the first ten protagonists of the Super Tuscan movement.

During the early 1980s, Merlot was planted at Siepi as a complement to Sangiovese in the vineyard’s particular microclimate. The first vintage of Siepi followed in 1992.

Castello Fonterutoli was first produced in 1995, preceding the later Gran Selezione category. From the 2017 vintage, it has been selected from the 11 leading parcels surrounding the village of Fonterutoli.

Vicoregio 36 was first produced as an IGT in 2008. Its experimental vineyard embodies five decades of Sangiovese research through 36 biotypes, including 18 massal selections taken from old estate vineyards.

Three communes and three Gran Selezione crus

With the 2017 harvest, the family launched three Chianti Classico Gran Selezione expressions tied to the estate’s three historic communes and later UGAs: Castello Fonterutoli for Castellina in Chianti, Vicoregio 36 for Castelnuovo Berardenga/Vagliagli and Badiòla for Radda in Chianti. Badiòla’s first vintage was 2017.

Modernisation and the new cellar

Lapo Mazzei initiated a programme of modernisation that gained further momentum under Filippo Mazzei. Filippo’s management combined investment in wine quality with expansion into international markets, while Francesco Mazzei strengthened commercial organisation and the family company’s managerial structure.

Agnese Mazzei designed the modern Fonterutoli cellar as a low-impact building in which architecture serves production. Constructed on three descending levels, it moves grapes from the reception square through vinification and maturation by gravity. The winery joined Toscana Wine Architecture, a circuit of 14 contemporary design cellars. Its underground barrique level incorporates exposed rock and five natural water-bearing layers that maintain temperature and humidity without conventional climate control.

Estate setting

Castello di Fonterutoli lies in the heart of Chianti Classico, between Castellina in Chianti and Siena. The 650 ha property contains 110 ha of specialised vineyards, while woodland and other crops occupy much of the remaining land. Vineyard elevations extend from 220 to 570 m above sea level.

The vineyards historically cross three neighbouring communes and their corresponding Chianti Classico UGAs: Castellina in Chianti, Castelnuovo Berardenga/Vagliagli and Radda in Chianti. The estate identifies eight terroirs, organised into seven geographical zones and subdivided into 114 parcels. This broad elevation range, multiple exposures and contrasting microclimates underpin the parcel-by-parcel approach.

Geology and soils

The estate’s ground is poor, rocky and strongly skeletal. Its mineral complexity derives principally from the weathering of Alberese limestone and sandstone, with local variations involving Galestro and clay. These variations are mapped through zoning and managed as distinct microzones or crus.

Castellina in Chianti — Fonterutoli

The Fonterutoli vineyards stand at approximately 470 m, facing south and southwest. Alberese rock, high limestone content and abundant stones dominate the soil. The middle-to-high hillside setting faces the Val d’Elsa, which provides warmth, while cool night air descends from the woodland above the vines. The resulting day–night temperature range combines the warmth of the valley-facing position with nocturnal cooling.

Castelnuovo Berardenga — Vicoregio

Vicoregio occupies a well-lit plateau at 350 m, with southeast-to-south exposures. Its Alberese soils contain a substantial clay component and abundant stones. Summer daytime temperatures are slightly above the estate average, but a ventilated channel forms at night and lowers minimum temperatures to an average of about 2.5°C below those in the estate’s other zones. This produces pronounced diurnal variation.

Radda in Chianti — Badiòla

Badiòla reaches 570 m and faces southeast and southwest. Galestro and sandstone predominate, with mixed skeletal material. Its high-hill, inland position receives cool summer currents and records the estate’s lowest daytime temperatures. Budbreak and ripening consequently occur later, with harvest generally around mid-October.

The estate applies detailed zoning to identify and manage each microzone and cru separately. Its 110 ha of vineyards are divided into 114 parcels across elevations of 220–570 m, allowing cultivation and harvest decisions to follow local soils, exposures and ripening patterns.

Chemical herbicides and chemical fertilizers have been completely eliminated. Pruned shoots, grape stalks, grape pomace, olive pomace and horse manure are recovered and composted on the property to produce organic fertilizer.

Green manure is sown in alternating rows to raise soil organic matter and increase agroecosystem diversity. Species include field bean, common vetch, sainfoin, clovers, oats, barley, phacelia, mustard, pannonica, lupin, peas and horseradish. The cover crops are cut after setting seed.

Biological pest control receives particular attention. Sexual pheromones are used against key grapevine and olive pests to minimise synthetic insecticide use. Terraced vineyards, water regulation and land shaping limit erosion, reduce water loss and support the accumulation of water and organic matter in the soil.

All 114 parcels are harvested by hand. Their grapes remain separate through vinification and wood maturation, preserving the distinctions established in the vineyard.

Gravity-fed architecture

Agnese Mazzei’s cellar is integrated into the slope overlooking Siena and descends through three underground levels. Grapes received in the upper square move naturally through vinification and wood maturation by gravity, reducing mechanical handling and stress on the fruit.

Parcel vinification

The winery contains 74 tapered cylindrical stainless-steel fermenters, each holding 100 hl. Their number and scale allow grapes from the estate’s 114 parcels to be processed independently as microvinifications. The general red-wine approach combines punch-downs with long macerations, seeking substantial colour extraction and supple tannins. The wines from individual parcels also mature separately in wood before selection and blending.

Underground maturation

The barrique cellar lies 15 m below ground and accommodates more than 3,000 oak barrels. Five natural water-bearing layers flow along exposed rock walls. These maintain stable temperature and humidity throughout the year without a conventional cellar climate-control system; spring water is collected and recycled.

Cru-specific methods

Castello Fonterutoli and Badiòla ferment in tapered stainless-steel vats at 26–28°C. Castello Fonterutoli macerates for approximately 15–16 days, matures for 18 months in 500 L French-oak barrels, about 50% new, and finishes for four months in concrete. Badiòla macerates for 17 days, matures for 16 months in 500 L French-oak barrels, about 30% new, and finishes for five months in concrete.

Vicoregio 36 ferments and undergoes malolactic conversion in 500 L French-oak barrels. Maceration lasts approximately 20 days; maturation continues for 18 months in 500 L French oak, about 50% new, followed by four months in concrete.

Siepi’s Sangiovese and Merlot are harvested and macerated separately. Fermentation temperatures are 26–28°C, with approximately 14 days of maceration for Merlot and 18 days for Sangiovese. Maturation lasts 18 months in 225 L French-oak barrels, about 70% new.

Concerto began with 15 barriques matured for 18 months in the historic cellars, marking the estate’s first use of barriques.