Castello di Fonterutoli's vineyards have always lain within the territory of three adjoining Chianti Classico municipalities: Castellina in Chianti, Castelnuovo Berardenga, and Radda in Chianti. Starting from the vintage 2017, the Mazzei family has decided to anticipate the times by highlighting the biodiversity of these three terroirs in three Chianti Classico Gran Selezione wines: Castello Fonterutoli, Vicoregio 36, Badiòla.
Castello Fonterutoli, a forerunner in 1995 of Gran Selezione category, comes from the best parcels surrounding the Fonterutoli hamlet in the Castellina in Chianti municipality. The vineyards, located at an altitude of 470 meters, are characterized by an ideal microclimate and by a soil rich in “Alberese” rocks. A different situation compared to Castelnuovo Berardenga municipality, where the 36 biotypes of Sangiovese are planted. It is a true experimental vineyard located at 350mt on a plateau with good sun exposure daily but a wide diurnal temperature range. It is characterized by clay-rich Alberese soil with abundant skeleton gravel. To find one of the highest vineyards in Chianti Classico, we need to move to Radda in Chianti municipality, where, at an altitude of 570 meters, Badiòla vineyards are placed. Here, the fresh climate, with the lowest daily temperatures of the estate’s vineyards, is combined with the soil composed of Galestro and Sandstone.
Starting from July 1st, with the release of the 2020 vintage, the division of Chianti Classico in U.G.A. (Additional Geographic Units) is officially active. It is aimed at increasing quality in terms of identity and territoriality, improving knowledge about the origin of the grapes and strengthening the wine-terroir relationship. The 2020 vintage of 3 Gran Selezione is characterized by a good harvest that, thanks to the ideal climate with average temperature and well-spaced rainfalls, gave rise to top-qualities grapes and to wines that combine fullness and structure with balance and freshness.
The division into U.G.A. has allowed therefore highlighting the characteristics of each terroir, giving rise to a perfect combination of elegance, structure, and minerality as in the case of Castello Fonterutoli, a pure-bred Chianti Classico Gran Selezione, intense, rich in color and strong and bright bouquet as in the case with Vicoregio 36, and finally a great elegance and freshness wine, with a wild berries and red fruits notes as in the case of Badiòla.