Frescobaldi a millenary legacy - 700 years of wine growing history
The Frescobaldi family moved to Florence around the year 1000, establishing their first agricultural estate, Tenuta Castiglioni.
Over centuries, as the family gained prominence in Florence, they also established a deep connection with winemaking.
Crucially, in 1855, the family introduced new vine varietals to Tuscany, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Chardonnay, profoundly influencing the region's viticulture.
The family's efforts have since been dedicated to elevating Tuscany as a place of viticultural excellence. Today, the 30th generation continues to strengthen the company by focusing on the uniqueness of the wines from each family estate.
A journey through the Frescobaldi estates
Gorgona Project
The Gorgona project began in August 2012 thanks to the partnership between Frescobaldi and Gorgona, the only island penitentiary in Europe. Here, inmates spend the final years of their sentence, working and living in close contact with nature, while developing skills to support their return to society and the workforce.
In a small vineyard located in an amphitheatre-shaped area that overlooks the sea, the project aims to provide inmates with practical experience in the areas of grape cultivation and winemaking by working closely with Frescobaldi agronomists and oenologists.
From a few rows of Sangiovese and Vermentino Nero, whose grapes are vinified on the island and then aged in terracotta jars, Gorgona Rosso was born with the 2015 harvest.
Today, the vineyard measures two hectares, including the original plot and a second area planted in 2015. From this vineyard of Vermentino and Ansonica grapes emerges Gorgona, the fruit of a unique location and human toil, a symbol of hope and freedom.
Tenuta Castiglioni
The typical fresh, clay soils, ideal for highlighting the fruitiness of the wines. Tenuta Castiglioni is situated in the gentle hills of Val di Pesa. Here the richness of the weather and the soil is expressed in the structure of the wines, thanks to the symbiosis between fresh earth, a mild climate and the afternoon breezes from the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Property of the family since the 11th century, Castiglioni is the point of origin of wine production for the Frescobaldis. Documentation indicates that wines were being produced here as early as 1300. The estate extends along the ancient Via di Castiglioni, built by the Romans to unify northern Tuscany and Rome.
The area was already famous in those times for the quality of its agricultural harvests and was for centuries at the center of heavy trade traffic and chosen as the site for luxury Roman villas. The coat of arms of the Frescobaldi family, with the crown, the shield and three fortresses, represents Castiglioni as well, in remembrance and recognition of the 700 years of wine-making history which began here at this very estate.
Tenuta Castelgiocondo
The village of Castelgiocondo overlooks the historic estate of the Frescobaldis in Montalcino: an ancient stronghold built in 1100 to defend the road leading from the sea to Siena, land that gave rise to the Brunello di Montalcino. The property is one of the first 4 to begin producing Brunello di Montalcino in 1800, and its historic importance is represented on the label of Castelgiocondo by the figure of a condottiere from a celebrated fresco of the Sienese artist Simone Martini.
The artist’s depiction shows Guidoriccio da Fogliano, commander of the troops of Siena who in 1323 led the attack on the Montemassi castle; an historic moment that coincided with the initiation of the Frescobaldi family’s centuries-old adventure in the world of wine.
To the south-west of Montalcino, Tenuta CastelGiocondo is situated at an altitude of around 300 metres, an ideal terroir for the production of Sangiovese. Discover and experience the history of this area steeped in charm.
Tenuta Ammiraglia
The estate of Ammiraglia is a place of unquestionable natural beauty, captivating and impeccable, set in a territory of great potential for the production of high quality wines.
In particular the cellars, designed by Piero Sartogo and Nathalie Grenon represent one of the most perfect combinations of innovation, technology and respect for the environment. The building simply merges into its surroundings.
Tenuta Perano
Tenuta Perano is a unique estate at an altitude of 500 metres, nestled in the heart of Chianti Classico. A natural amphitheatre, with southwest exposure, ideal for capturing heat and light.
Steep slopes and stony soils characterise this particular landscape, creating healthy air movement and ideal terroir for Sangiovese. A magical land that expresses an elegant vibration and an intense note of fruit through its fine wines.
Tenuta Calimaia
The vineyards, arranged in a circle around the hill of Monteliscione, are located about 300 metres above sea level, in an area where the soils are of Pliocene origin, poor in organic matter and therefore particularly suited to the cultivation of Sangiovese (in this area traditionally called Prugnolo Gentile).
The high content of clay and the high temperatures due to the low altitude produce a structured and powerful Noble wine, rich in tannins and very suitable for ageing.
Rèmole
Built in 1300 along the river Arno. Belonging to the forebears of the Frescobaldis, they were important workshops, amongst the biggest in Tuscany, for working and trading wool.
The parish of Rèmole, a mediaeval romanesque structure severe and ancient beauty. Already documented before the year 1000, this ancient Parish is characterised by an unusually simple facade with the Bell Tower in the middle.
Castello Pomino
The estate of Pomino dates from 1500, the year the castle of the same name was built, and from the beginning has been famous for the excellence of its location. In the documentation from the year 1716 when the Grand Duke Cosimo III de’ Medici identified the four most highly prized territories of Tuscany for the production of wines – the notice is considered the precursor of the modern “DOC”
Denominazione di Origine Controllata, or Controlled Designation of Origin – the territory of Pomino is listed alongside Chianti, Carmignano and Val d’Arno di Sopra. At the World’s Fair of 1873 in Vienna the wines of Pomino won awards, and in 1878 took the gold medal at the World’s Fair in Paris, the highest international recognition of its time.
Castello Nipozzano
The ancient defensive stronghold of Florence from the year 1000, the Castello Nipozzano is the most celebrated and historic property of the Frescobaldi family. According to popular belief Nipozzano means “without a well” – testimony to the area’s lack of water and ideal circumstances for the cultivation of grapevines. The first documentation about the renowned wines of Nipozzano dates from the Renaissance when great artists such as Donatello and Michelozzo Michelozzi regularly purchased wine from the estate.
A unique feature of the territory is attributed to the foresight of an ancestor of the Frescobaldi family who, in 1855 invested 1,000 florins to begin the cultivation of varieties previously unknown in Tuscany such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. After more than a century of patient care, these magnificent vines produce the great wine of the estate, Mormoreto.
https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/
