Ceni Primo by Barone Ricasoli

Soil: This Cru grows on the great valley of the River Arbia, in the southernmost part of the property. The soil, very distinctive and complex, originates from an ancient river terrace dating back to the Pliocene-Pleistocene epochs. These are silty deposits, little evidence of stone, with the presence of clay, a little limestone and poor in organic matter.

Harvest: Harvesting and selection of the best grapes in the vineyard by hand on September 25th.

Winemaking: The grapes are destemmed and transferred by gravity into 100-hl stainless steel open tanks and then inoculated with selected yeasts. Fermentation temperature 24-27°C with daily punching. Duration of fermentation and maceration on the skins about 14-16 days.

Ageing: 18 months in 500-litre tonneaus of which 30% new and 70% second passage.

The Winery

Brolio Castle: symbol of the territory of the Chianti Classico area. Ricasoli is the most representative wine producer in the Chianti Classico area. With its gentle hills, velvety valleys and thick woodlands of oaks and chestnuts, the 1,200 hectares of property include almost 240 hectares of vineyards and 26 of olive groves. This creates a continuous succession of colors and hues around the Brolio Castle, which is located within the town limits of Gaiole in Chianti. Since 1993, Baron Francesco Ricasoli has been guiding this central Tuscan company in innovative challenges. This has been done with the deepest respect for his renowned ancestors who have made this territory great, Bettino Ricasoli first and foremost.

Francesco Ricasoli, current owner and President of the company, has generated new ideas and concepts to render the vineyards sustainable. The ongoing study of soil types and the clonal selection of the Brolio Sangiovese are among his greatest passions, and he has totally renovated the vineyards and completely mapped them. The new wines are therefore the expression of research carried out with the same scientific rigor of his illustrious ancestor but with a contemporary spirit, like a runner receiving the baton and carrying it forward with renewed energy.

The Family

From Longobard origins to after Cavour. The Ricasoli family appeared among the feudal noble dignitaries in the court of Emperor Charlemagne. From the thirteenth century onwards the branches of the family multiplied and then reunited once more in the late 1700s, early 1800s. With their armies, generations of Ricasoli nobles have charted the course of history against the backdrop of Brolio Castle, defending Florence since 1200, from the eternal battles against Siena until the unity of Italy. Bettino Ricasoli, the Iron Baron, was twice Prime Minister of the newly united Italy after Cavour.

The History

The history of the Ricasoli family has been linked to wine since 1141, when there is written testimony attesting that the Ricasoli family already possessed Brolio Castle. After centuries defending their lands and feudal sovereignty, the Ricasoli family understood the great potential of the Brolio territory and were among the first to dedicate themselves to the improvement of agriculture and vineyards. In fact, the family tree, reproduced in a print from 1584, is one of the first images of the Chianti area.

Interesting documents from the late 1600s report the first exports to Amsterdam and England, whereas at the start of the 1900s, the wines from Brolio were well known and appreciated, requested and exported all over the world: from China to Saudi Arabia, from South Africa to Guatemala, from Costa Rica to the one-time British colonies in Africa. Most especially, in 1872 Baron Bettino Ricasoli (1809 – 1880), illustrious politician and visionary wine entrepreneur, originated the formula for Chianti wine, now called Chianti Classico.

The Cellars

The cellars of Barone Ricasoli are at the foot of Brolio Castle, separated from the main body of the winery, and used exclusively for winemaking. The modernization of the old cellars was done by carefully restoring the aesthetics and functions of the original nineteenth century rooms, while organizing modern and technologically avant-garde spaces at the same time. Each vineyard plot is harvested separately. Once gathered, the grapes are taken to the vat room in containers with a maximum capacity of 200 kg; vinification takes place in small steel vats, enabling careful regulation of the fermentation process and keeping the characteristics of every single vineyard plot separate.

Experimentation and a thorough knowledge of the land have led us to vinify separately even within the same plot, according to the morphological similarities of the subsoil. The structure of the winemaking cellar is devised so that the vats are filled by means of gravity, which allows a gentle punching down and extracts the most desirable substances from the skins. At the end of the fermentation process the wines are transferred to barrels of various sizes and oak barriques in the barrel aging cellar. Frequent laboratory monitoring accompanies Ricasoli wines throughout their development right up to their long (sometimes very long) bottle aging in temperature-controlled rooms, before being sent off to their destinations in the four corners of the earth.

Website : Marchesi Antino