The famous Italian noble family in the iRegion of Tuscany has been growing wine continuously since 1141, making it one of the oldest wine estates in the world. Since that time, the family has owned extensive land in the area between Siena and Florence. This prompted the Republic of Florence to exclude the family from public office. However, this did not prevent the family from exercising great political influence for centuries. Around 1830, Baron Bettino Ricasoli (1809-1880) inherited the neglected family estate Castello di Brolio in the heart of the Chianti-Classico region and began to reform viticulture on a grand scale. He travelled to France and Germany, studied viticulture there and imported numerous grape varieties. In 1861, he became Prime Minister of the new Kingdom of Italy and was nicknamed the "Iron Baron".
Recipe for Chianti
After many attempts, he created a generally valid recipe for Chianti around 1850. In a letter from 1872, Ricasoli summarised the results of his decades of experimentation. However, the modern Chianti recipe has changed significantly since then. The baron's efforts to reorganise the production and marketing of Chianti wine by dividing up the activities had a major influence on the quality of Chianti. The concept was based on the assumption that the majority of winegrowers would supply grapes to large trading houses and wineries, which would then carry out the vinification, ageing and marketing. For this reason, he founded the Ricasoli trading house, which developed into the leading Chianti producer over the next hundred years.
Change of ownership
In the 1960s, Ricasoli was under the control of the Seagram group for several years. Although this led to a huge increase in production, it had a negative impact on quality. In 1990, Ricasoli was bought by the Australian multinational Hardy, but only three years later took its fortunes back into its own hands. Since 1993, Francesco Ricasoli has managed the estate with its headquarters at "Castello di Brolio". Of around 1,200 hectares of land, almost all of which is in the municipality of Gaiole, 250 hectares are vineyards. The complete renewal of the vineyards began in 1994 and today the vine density is 5,500 to 6,200 vines per hectare. Sangiovese is cultivated on more than 150 hectares. The rest is planted with the varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Canaiolo Nero, Chardonnay, Malvasia del Chianti (Malvasia Bianca Lunga) and Merlot.
Product range
The premium wine is "Chianti-Classico Castello di Brolio" made from Sangiovese, which is aged for 18 months in barriques. Others are "Chianti Classico Brolio" and "Riserva Rocca Guicciarda". The red wine "Casalferro" is blended from Sangiovese and Merlot. The white wine "Torricella", made from Chardonnay, is aged for eight months in barriques and the "Brolio Vinsanto" (Malvasia del Chianti) is now pressed according to old traditions. A young Chianti called "San Ripolo" is marketed under the name "Barone Ricasoli". The "Castello di Cacchiano" with around 25 hectares of vineyards belongs to Giovanni Ricasoli-Firidolfi (cousin of the Brolio branch). The Castello has been in the family since 1150. A Chianti-Classico "Castello di Cacchiano" (90% Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Malvasia Nero, Colorino and Merlot) is produced here.
Baron Ricasoli: from Duroni & Murer, public domain, link
Castelli di Brolio: by Robyfra1, Public domain, Link
