History
Family land, agriculture and sharecropping: 1739–1964
The land occupied by Castello dei Rampolla has belonged to the family since 1739. Until the modern estate emerged, it supported a mixed agricultural economy based on wine, wheat and cattle and was worked by farmers under the sharecropping system.
Alceo and Livia establish the modern estate: 1965–1975
Castello dei Rampolla traces its modern foundation to 1965. In that year, Alceo di Napoli Rampolla inherited the Santa Lucia in Faulle farm from his father. Together with his wife, Livia Borgia, and their four children, he began transforming it into a modern agricultural and wine enterprise. The first new vineyard was planted in 1968.
Alceo’s ambition was to make a major wine at a time when Chianti Classico was still struggling to establish the recognition he believed it deserved. The 1975 harvest produced the first bottled Chianti Classico carrying the Castello dei Rampolla name.
Cabernet Sauvignon and Sammarco: the 1970s and 1980
Alceo was drawn to Cabernet Sauvignon despite Sangiovese’s established position in the district. Working with his friend and winemaker Giacomo Tachis, he became the first producer in the area to plant Cabernet Sauvignon and combine it with Sangiovese. This departure from local convention became the estate’s first major viticultural and stylistic revolution.
The collaboration led to Sammarco, whose first bottle was released in 1980. The project expressed Alceo’s aim of creating a wine with a distinct personality from Cabernet Sauvignon complemented by local Sangiovese.
Vigna d’Alceo and biodynamic conversion: 1991–1996
In 1991, Vigna d’Alceo was established as a high-density Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard on a south-facing site. Its vines were trained as low alberello plants no higher than 50 cm.
A second major transformation began in 1994 with conversion to biodynamic agriculture. The change rested on a view of humanity not as master of the land, but as its custodian, observer and integral participant.
D’Alceo followed in 1996 as the estate’s first biodynamic wine. It joined the intentions of two generations: Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot reflected Alceo’s vision, while the biodynamic approach reflected that of Luca and Maurizia.
Terracotta, no-added-sulphite winemaking and lighter equipment: 2008–2011
Experiments with amphorae began in 2008. The vessels came from nearby Impruneta, an area historically associated with terracotta.
In 2010, Luca and Maurizia made the estate’s first wine without added sulphites. Sangiovese was vinified entirely in terracotta amphorae, with no sulphites added beyond those naturally present.
By 2011, 90% of the vineyard machinery was lightweight and part of the fleet was electric. Compared with conventional equipment, these machines reduced both weight on the soil and operating noise.
Expansion of inert vessels and continued research: 2011–2019
Between 2011 and 2016, the cellar broadened its use of neutral vessels to include Clayver ceramic containers and cocciopesto alongside terracotta and concrete.
The estate marked 50 years of continuous development in 2015, defining growth not only numerically but through work paced by nature and directed toward quality.
Liù, a varietal Merlot, joined the estate in 2018. In 2019, treatments derived from orange peel were introduced in the vineyard to reduce reliance on sulphur.
Sixty years
In 2025, Castello dei Rampolla marked sixty years since the creation of the modern estate, framing its development as continuing research among people, vineyard and cellar.
Terroir
Castello dei Rampolla’s Santa Lucia in Faulle estate lies in the Conca d’Oro valley, south of Panzano in Chianti, at approximately 43.54045° N and 11.29349° E.
The basin has southeast- and southwest-facing slopes. This exposure historically made the valley strategically valuable for growing wheat and now supports its vineyards. Its medieval name, Conca d’Oro or “Golden Basin,” recalls both the golden colour of wheat and the period when Siena and Florence contested the Chianti lands.
The estate describes its soils in terms of their freshness and capacity to support gradual, progressive grape maturation, including during particularly hot growing seasons. Its understanding of terroir is broader than soil alone: land, air, living organisms, vines and human work are treated as an interconnected system whose balance must be observed rather than imposed upon.
Winemaking
Biodynamic conversion and observation
Conversion to biodynamic agriculture began in 1994. The approach treats people as custodians, observers and participants within the land rather than its masters. Vineyard work follows the lunar calendar and is directed toward making the soil increasingly self-sufficient, able to obtain nourishment from the plant and animal life it supports.
The estate also identifies its current work with regenerative viticulture: every intervention is evaluated for its compatibility with the vineyard’s living ecosystem and its ability to sustain regeneration over successive seasons.
Ground cover, green manure and soil structure
Grass is allowed to grow naturally and is also sown where appropriate. This vegetation shades the soil, improves moisture retention and helps prevent erosion. Green manure has progressively increased the soil’s vitality, fertility and balance, allowing cultivation and other mechanical disturbance to be reduced.
Flowers and diverse herbs are valued for roots capable of bringing oxygen and organic matter deeper into the soil than machinery can reach. Cover crops may also be rolled between rows to add organic matter and create a barrier against moisture loss.
Biodiversity
Flowers, grasses and insects—including organisms sometimes regarded as undesirable—are treated as functional parts of the vineyard. Pollinators and beneficial insects are actively protected. Phacelia is grown as a bee-friendly flowering plant, supporting pollinator health and broadening vineyard biodiversity.
Preparations and disease protection
Biodynamic preparations are vitalized in flow forms: partially overlapping basins through which water moves rhythmically, increasing its oxygenation before use.
The established protection programme is based on low-impact and naturally derived materials. It includes copper, sulphur and propolis. Spring applications also employ nettle and horsetail infusions: nettle is used to stimulate vigour and growth, while silica-rich horsetail is intended to strengthen resistance to fungal diseases such as mildew.
Propolis supplies antimicrobial and antifungal protection. Prevam, made from citrus-peel essential oils, provides preventive and curative action as a biodegradable alternative to conventional products. ElioCuivre supplies copper in micro-doses intended to protect vines while limiting disruption to the soil and its microbiome. Orange-peel treatments were introduced in 2019 specifically to reduce sulphur use. The spring programme is designed not to harm bees or other beneficial organisms.
Machinery and harvest
Light equipment is used to avoid compaction and damage to useful ground flora. Since 2011, 90% of vineyard machinery has been lightweight, with part of the fleet electrically powered; it is also quieter than conventional equipment. Grapes are harvested manually and selected to preserve their original quality before vinification.
Guiding principle
Cellar operations are designed to preserve the grapes’ original quality and translate the character of the land with minimal disturbance. The estate seeks to establish favourable conditions and then allow natural processes to proceed. Cellar work, like vineyard work, is scheduled in accordance with the lunar calendar.
Reception, fermentation and maceration
The harvest is carried out by hand. Whole berries are placed in concrete vats, cocciopesto vessels or terracotta amphorae for maceration and alcoholic fermentation. In the general red-wine process, maceration usually lasts 25–30 days, including approximately 7–8 days of alcoholic fermentation. The must is vitalized through flow forms.
Drawing off and pressing
Wine is separated from the skins with the aid of a peristaltic pump, followed by gentle pressing of the pomace. These choices are intended to handle the fermenting material without aggressive mechanical action.
Vessels and maturation
Concrete forms part of the core vinification system. Experiments with terracotta amphorae from Impruneta began in 2008. Between 2011 and 2016 the cellar expanded its use of inert or neutral vessels to include Clayver ceramic and cocciopesto containers. Barrel maturation varies by wine and generally lasts 12–18 months.
The 2010 no-added-sulphite Sangiovese project demonstrated the estate’s use of terracotta for an entire vinification. No sulphites were added beyond those naturally occurring in the wine.
Energy
Photovoltaic panels provide power to the cellar.
Philosophy
Castello dei Rampolla frames its work as continuing research linking humanity, vineyard and cellar. The common thread between generations runs from Alceo’s introduction of unconventional varieties in the 1970s to Luca and Maurizia’s biodynamic and no-added-sulphite work.
Its biodynamic philosophy begins with the premise that humanity is neither owner nor master of the Earth, but its custodian, observer and integral participant. Working with nature therefore requires time, attention and responsiveness to natural and lunar rhythms.
The estate’s conception of terroir is the harmony of land, air, living organisms, vines and people. Quality depends on maintaining that relationship rather than treating any element in isolation. Soil should become progressively self-sufficient, drawing nourishment from the diversity of plant and animal life within it.
This outlook extends from ground cover and beneficial insects to cellar vessels and energy use. Treatments, machines and techniques are chosen not only for immediate effectiveness but also for their compatibility with the whole ecosystem. The objective is to cultivate both sound grapes and a living landscape capable of renewing itself year after year.
Research is understood as an open-ended responsibility shared across generations. Tradition is retained through observation and patient work, while new varieties, terracotta, ceramic and cocciopesto vessels, electric machinery, photovoltaic energy and reduced-sulphur practices are adopted when they further the estate’s relationship with the land.