In the heart of Chianti Classico, the beautiful Castello di Fonterutoli winery owned by Marquises Mazzei holds a fascinating piece of the history of the most iconic Tuscan wine in the world.
Among lush hills covered with woods and vineyards, at the foot of the medieval village from which it takes its name, the prestigious winery stands out on the horizon with its iconic semicircular silhouette that embraces the surrounding landscape.
The Castello di Fonterutoli winery preserves the art of Ser Lapo Mazzei, who invented Chianti in 1398 and would deserve a long article himself to tell his amazing story. In the second half of the eighteenth century Philip Mazzei, his descendant and friend of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and George Washington, was even invited by Thomas Jefferson to introduce Mazzei viticulture techniques at Monticello in Virginia.
Don’t mind the cost of that wine, although it was expensive: goodness heals.
(Ser Lapo Mazzei, 1394)
Castello di Fonterutoli is part of Toscana Wine Architecture, a circuit that includes 14 excellent wineries signed by great names in architecture, from Mario Botta to Renzo Piano, including Tenuta Ammiraglia dei Marchesi Frescobaldi and Salcheto winery. Castello di Fonterutoli was designed by Agnese Mazzei as a fascinating contemporary arena and offers its visitors exclusive experiences that tell all the richness and excellence of its terroirs.
For over 600 years the winery has been located within the village which today houses the wine resort, the Società Orchestrale Wine Bar and the Fonterutoli Osteria: many of the production activities took place, in fact, in the historic buildings now used for hospitality of guests. Since 2006, all the production has then been moved to the current, sustainable and avant-garde building.
Each floor of the building corresponds to a different step of the production: from the “square” where the freshly harvested grapes are processed and selected, up to the underground barrel cellar. Here there is a real coup de théâtre: on the left it is possible, in fact, to admire a limestone wall, discovered during the excavations, which like a painting reveals the composition of the soil above and of one of the five aquifers that characterize it.
The company consists of 650 hectares, of which 114 hectares of vineyards rigorously worked without the use of pesticides in order to preserve both the environment and the surrounding woods rich in game. There are seven terroirs where, at different altitudes, various types of grapes give life to the Mazzei wines.
Hand harvesting is another of Castello di Fonterutoli’s stylistic features which, together with the refinement of the grapes in various types of barrels, helps to give its wines the magical complexity that characterizes them.
Among the bestsellers, we can mention IGT Siepi, from the homonymous vine, the extraordinary Concerto di Fonterutoli, a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon, so-called to celebrate its aromatic harmony, and the Chianti Classico DOCG. To then move on to the Grand Selections, such as Vicoregio, a pure Sangiovese obtained from 36 different biotypes, and the Reserve named Ser Lapo in honor of the famous ancestor of the family.
The wine experiences of Castello di Fonterutoli include the visits with tasting of 3 or 5 wines, the Food&Wine Tours, the Private and Vip Tours and the verticals of the Grand Selections which take place in a cosy private room.
For the more adventurous, the winery also offers a Grand Tour with a visit to the vineyards by jeep or a trekking path through the vineyards to enjoy an extraordinary view of Siena and San Gimignano before indulging in the pleasure of doing some shopping in the winery store. Here you can also find the Mazzei wines from the Belguardo estates in Maremma and the Zisola one in Sicily.
The Secret
The Chianti Ser Lapo label shows the paragraph of the letter where, for the first time, Chianti is mentioned not as a region but as a product, today kept in the family historical archive. This is part of the extraordinary fourteenth-century correspondence Antiche lettere del vino (Ancient letters of wine) by Ser Lapo Mazzei where we can read his conversations with friends such as Francesco di Marco Datini, an enlightened merchant and banker from Prato, as well as other important historical figures of the time.
Useful Info
Cantina Castello di Fonterutoli
Via Ottone III di Sassonia 5, Loc. Fonterutoli
53011 Castellina in Chianti, Siena
Tel. +39 0577 73571
Tastings and wine tours: from 30 to 180 euro