In the mid 1800s Baron Bettino Ricasoli  embodied the renaissance man, conducting botanical trials on his vineyard while tending to a newly unified Italy as Prime Minister.  Research on grape varieties at Ricasoli Castle lead Bettino to formulate the Chianti Classico recipe that would see the region into the 20th Century and beyond.  Before Bettino there was no Chianti Classico.  No kidding.  From his experience with the noble French varieties, Bettino looked to Italy's best indigenous vines and decided that Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Malvasia would blend into an absolutely gratifying wine.  As the leader in this trio, Sangiovese, from sanguis Jovis, the blood of Jove (Jove being Jupiter), was certainly noble already at least in the eyes of the Romans but it was launched further into the heavens to secure its place among the Parthenon of grape varieties by Bettino's knowledgeable hand.  These three grapes combined into Chianti as it would then be known.  Such a bold gambit was to mark a telling turn in the fate of Tuscan wine but forever change the course of Italian wine in the thirsty eyes of wine drinkers all over the world.  Baron Bettino Ricasoli knew Chianti had to be realized because of his elaborate and involved trials.  This spirit of studied innovation continues.

 

With Carlo Ferrini (Wine Enthusiast's Winemaker of the year 2007) at the helm following Bettino's example, Barone Ricasoli has the world's most trusted expert on Sangiovese isolating 13 various Sangiovese clones, matching each of these to the very best corresponding soils on the property. The compelling results include Castello di Brolio (#5 on Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines, 2009) along with an impressive haras of leading Chianti Classico wines in a stable that embodies breeding and strength.  Leading research seldom joins with tradition so fruitfully as when these meet under the Ricasoli roof. We've come to expect great things from the House of Ricasoli and they continue to move us in ways other wines cannot.