Travel

Castello di Fonterutoli
«Enoteka» № 11(68) 2008

It is not always easy to write about great historic estates.

On the one hand, the story usually involves aristocratic families with many branches of a genealogic tree and direct influence on events which made up the history, no matter whether it is political or agricultural, of certain regions and even countries. On the other hand, the archival burden sometimes puts unnecessary pressure on perception of the estate’s modern outlook, as well as attitudes to its modus operandi – applied, in our case, to the winemaking side of things.

The family of marquises Mazzei from Tuscany is a convenient example. The dynasty can be traced a thousand years back, and one of its representatives immortalized Chianti as wine’s name in the oldest known document dated 1398. They have been owners of the Fonterutoli village and adjoining lands since the 15th century. Fonterutoli was founded in the times of the Etruscans and the Romans thanks to a convenient location on the road between Florence and Siena. It was a place of signing several important peace treaties in the Middle Ages. Prominent personalities such as Filippo Mazzei, diplomat and a friend of Thomas Jefferson, and Jacopo Mazzei, a minister of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany not long before the Italian unification, should also be mentioned in the familial line.

An impressive family dossier casts the shine of glory on the Mazzei’s winemaking reputation, but one should remember that the meaningful history of wine for the family started only in the 20th century. The heyday arrived about two decades ago and is triumphantly continuing today — all thanks to the efforts of the last two generations of the ancient aristocratic dynasty.

Lapo Mazzei played a key role in building the winemaking reputation of Marchesi Mazzei and its flagship estate Castello di Fonterutoli in Chianti Classico. Having placed himself at the head of the company 60 years ago, young Lapo, then a student of the agricultural department in the University of Florence, experienced one of the most difficult periods in Tuscany of the 20th century. Problems of post-war restoration were followed by a general social crisis when agriculture got neglected and the workforce moved to towns. A new movement among winemakers was also born. They were aiming at quality reforms which eventually led to the supertuscan revolution.

Despite the hardships, Lapo Mazzei managed to put the family winemaking business on a sound foundation back in the 1960s. He was one of the first to have abandoned a traditional sharecropping system and to have transferred vineyards on a centralized management, to have introduced new quality standards and to have launched Castello di Fonterutoli wines on international markets. Along with managing the family estate, Mazzei worked in various Tuscan economic and financial establishments. He led the Consortium of Chianti Classico from 1974 to 1994 — in the period of dramatic changes which took place in the region. At present the 82-year-old Lapo is still presides over Marchesi Mazzei, though he is not involved in day-to-day operations anymore.

All members of the Mazzei family are on the company’s board, but the management is carried out by Lapo’s two sons — Filippo and Francesco. Born in two consecutive years, they call themselves virtual brothers, yet their paths of arriving into the family business, as well as functions in it, are very different. The former is in charge of production and finances, the latter looks after sales and marketing. Filippo was involved in the estate since the late 1970s, but his main job back then was with a major consumer credit company. His full transition to Castello di Fonterutoli happened in 1989. An important part of his career is linked to Barone Ricasoli in the period of repurchasing of the company by the original owners when Filippo worked as managing director. Francesco specialised in sales and strategic marketing in two well known Italian companies before joining the family business in 1996. Both are also members of various consortia today. Francesco states that key positions in Castello di Fonterutoli must be earned, and not simply inherited in future as well.

With the arrival of Lapo Mazzei sons the estate’s work was focused on study of the available clones, on replanting vineyards with the selected plant material, on research of the soils and microclimate of individual vineyards, on understanding the processes of vine development and introducing new vinification techniques. Francesco Mazzei notes that processes in Castello di Fonterutoli were symptomatic for many estates in the region. “The innovation rocketed from the end of the 1970s. It was partly due to the preceding crisis. Although Chianti Classico is one of the oldest appellations, the rate of improvement continues at 20-30% a year. In this respect Chianti Classico is exactly opposite of Bordeaux where the development of the top estates has been steady and stable”. New transformation was managed with the help of Carlo Ferrini who has worked in Castello di Fonterutoli for 15 years. His career of a leading Tuscan consultant-enologist started from this estate.

Today the vineyards occupy 117 hectares and are divided between five areas — Fonterutoli, Siepi, Belvedere, Caggio and Badiola. Due to location in the high hills, each vineyard has own profile. “There is a wide number of aspects including soil types, microclimate, temperature range and others”, comments Mazzei.

One of the aspects is vineyard height above the sea level that varies between 200 and 500 metres. Grapes grown at 500 metres contribute more finesse to wine. The lower the plot, the more power there is in wine. On the other hand, the height dictates which varieties to choose. Early ripening Merlot is the only one in Fonterutoli that is successfully adapted to higher vineyards. Is Sangiovese grew there it would ripen only two times out of three, as the weather quickly cools down by the end of September thus causing certain difficulties for a late ripening variety. Merlot is picked in early September — it is usually ready by then.

Microclimatic conditions also have their influence. Mazzei gives an example of two Sangiovese plots on the Fonterutoli vineyard. One was planted on a slope where the currents of cold air pass. The quality of grapes suffers as a result, and the vineyard will be gradually phased out. The other plot, according to Francesco, gives “phenomenal grapes”. Landscape works were carried out to correct the angle of the slope, and the microclimate is similar to that located 100 metres lower.

Francesco Mazzei highlights the right selection of plants for individual microterroirs, high density of planting and low yields as the major factors for quality grapes. Leading Sangiovese, for instance, is represented by 16 clones and various massal selections from old vineyards.

Five grapes in total are used at the estate. Sangiovese is the symbol of the Tuscan tradition, and especially in Chianti Classico where it has always been a major grape. It is planted on the four fifths of Castello di Fonterutoli vineyards. Merlot is second most important (12% of total plantings). “After initial work with Merlot we realized that not only it is right for the area, but it is good in blends like local Canaiolo”, says Francesco. Merlot is Sangiovese’s equal partner in Siepe — a renowned supertuscan wine that has become a classic in its genre. Cabernet Sauvignon was introduced in the seventies. Back then it was the best known international grape and served as an emblem of new quality achievements of the winemaking Tuscany. A small part of the vineyards is given to local Colorino and Malvasia Nera, traditional elements of the Chianti Classico blend.

In the seventies Castello di Fonterutoli was one of the pioneers where the density of planting was increased by three times, from 2,5 to 7 and more thousand vines per hectare. Average yields, though, remained the same meaning that vines are bearing less fruit. According to Francesco, the main goal is to keep yields at 800-1000 grammes per vine to provide the optimal quality of grapes.

A colossal project of renewing old and planting new vineyards is completed by 95 percent. This finally opened a possibility to invest in building a winery. As Francesco Mazzei comments, before the vinification facilities were scattered in the old Fonterutoli buildings and made it difficult to run the winery efficiently. Construction started in 2003, and the total investment came up to 14 million euros — one of, if not the biggest in Chianti Classico. Last year the winery received the first harvest, but the final decorative works are being completed only now.

The new winery is a complex that goes beyond just having production processes in place. The priority is, of course, given to wine. Everything is designed to respect grapes and terroirs. The vinification process is divided between three levels, with a maximum use of gravitational forces.

The main action happens in the fermentation room. The sorted grapes arrive from the top through several openings in the ceiling. Then they are distributed between vats with the help of mobile tubes. Seventy four specially designed vats for maceration and fermentation make it possible to control quality and check the development of musts. Last year 128 micro-vinifications were undertaken. According to Francesco, their number will increase further. Such differentiated approach helps better understand wines from various plots and to refine their style. Alcoholic fermentation and maceration take place in open fermenters like in Burgundy. Mazzei stress the importance of pigeage. They believe this is a softer process that extracts only ripe tannins and better fixes the colour of wine.

Visitors are usually most impressed with the cellar. A pillared hall contains 3,500 barriques, and the sound of purling water is heard in the semidarkness. This is not a phonogram, but a real underground current made up of five streams. The temperature of the cellar is also natural. It varies between 11 and 19 degrees, following the seasonal rhythms.

Francesco Mazzei notes that a “soft approach” is provisioned not only for grapes and wine, but also for the environment. The winery is built with the minimal impact on the natural landscape and is almost hidden from the external view. Only the upper level used for offices and for reception of guests stands above the ground. The architect’s idea was to make it like a prow of a ship turned to the south where a stunning panorama is found, with a view of Siena. Local materials were used for building and decoration to add to the general balance.

As Francesco reveals, the main criteria for choosing an architect wasn’t a VIP status, but the understanding of the project’s needs. Such person was found inside the family. Agnese Mazzei, Filippo and Francesco’s sister and a professional architect, has already had work experience with wineries, including building a cellar in Tenuta San Guido and designing a new winery for Barone Ricasoli. As Francesco put it, now she had “to dress our ideas of wine production in stone”. Today the finished project is a witness to Agnese’s great success. With all its functional efficiency in wine production, the winery is a jewel of the architectural design and a topical example of a harmonious co-existence of a manmade structure and a natural landscape.

As for Castello di Fonterutoli wines, their range was defined in the mid-nineties and reflects the estate’s philosophy. Basic Poggio alla Badiola from Sangiovese and Merlot comes mainly from the high plots of the Badiola vineyard and gives and idea of an accessible, yet balanced wine. Fonterutoli, according to Francesco, is a “blockbuster in terms of the market presence”. It is a representative of the Chianti Classico DOCG category that reflects interaction of Sangiovese and typical Chianti Classico terroirs.

With the 1995 vintage Mazzei initiated a concept of Super Chianti Classico — a wine that is positioned above its category and represents the fullest expression of the best Chianti Classico vineyards. Super Chianti Classico is best described as an antithesis of a supertuscan wine. While both preserve the idea of the highest possible quality, the latter stresses a winemaker’s originality and authorship while the former — the true origin. Castello di Fonterutoli brand opened a new era of superpremium Chianti Classico wines. “Before Chianti Classico DOCG wines used to sell for 15-18 euros. Castello di Fonterutoli Chianti Classico DOCG was launched at 35”, says Francesco. The move also proved to be a wise one. Today we see the waning interest towards ambitious supertuscan wines and increasing attention for wines from specific wine production areas.

Notwithstanding the latest trend, the estate’s supertuscan Siepi that has been produced since 1992, has long established itself as one of the best known Tuscan wines. This is a demonstration of the authentic synergy of one piece of land with two grapes — Sangiovese and Merlot. As Francesco Mazzei comments, “grapes attract each other like magnets and arrive to a perfect balance” at Siepi.

That’s how an impressive panorama of the current Marchesi Mazzei acitivities and the Castello di Fonterutoli estate emerge today. The most important pages of their modern history are dedicated to vineyards and wine. They have earned their own reputation, without the pressure of the great past that can happily rest in peace now.

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In 1997 Filippo and Francesco Mazzei acquired land and vineyards in Maremma, on the Tuscan coast. They have renewed half of the 36 hectares of vineyards at once. During the following three years they replanted the remaining part. Belguardo has 80 hectares in total. It is planned to increase the vineyard area to 50 hectares. The varieties are Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Alicante Nero, Syrah and Merlot. The estate produces three wines — supertuscan Tenuta Belguardo (Cabernet Sauvignon and some Cabernet Franc), Bronzone (Sangiovese) in Morellino di Scansano DOCG and Serrata (Sangiovese and Alicante Nero) which is an IGT wine.

In 2003 Mazzei ‘discovered’ Sicily and bought an estate in the south-eastern corner of the island in vicinity of Avola, a town that lent its name to the famous local grape Nero d’Avola. Vines are grown in bushes at the density of 5,500 plants per hectare. Main plantings are given to Nero d’Avola that since 2004produces the only wine called Zisola.