102-HA WINE ESTATE WITH HISTORIC VILLA FOR SALE IN CHIANTI CLASSICO, TUSCANY

The manor house (1,300 m² – 13,988 ft², up to 15 bedrooms and 15 bathrooms) is a large stately building dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, registered at the superintendence and currently unused. The large rooms on the ground floor were formerly used as a tasting area (with capacity for up to 80 guests) with guest bathrooms, professional kitchen and storage rooms. The upper floors are abandoned and need major renovation and restoration before they can be used.

The wine cellar (2,000 m² – 21,520 ft², 2 bathrooms) is a modern, large building structured on three floors and equipped with freight elevators between levels for easier transport of products.

• Ground floor: administrative offices, store with tasting corner, kitchen for preparation, warehouse, bathrooms and large panoramic terrace (potentially to be used as tasting area in summer);
• Underground level (–1) (with direct access for farm vehicles): winemaking rooms, bottling line, warehouse for storage of finished product;
• Underground level (–2): aging cellar, equipment storage, kitchen, changing rooms for employees and toilets.

Equipment in the winery includes twenty-four steel winemakers (10 hl each), oak barrels (with capacities ranging from 5 to 60 hl), Bucher presses, destemmers, grape collection tanks, air conditioning system, and miscellaneous machinery.

In front of the castle, a short distance from the access bridge, we find a rustic farmhouse (220 m² – 2,367 ft², 8 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms) currently disused but easily converted into a charming B&B. The building is laid over two floors and consists of eight spacious bedrooms, all with private bathrooms and direct access from the outside.

Next to the farmhouse is the old barn (105 m² – 1,130 ft²), structured on two floors and formerly used as a common area for guests with a breakfast room, professional kitchen for food preparation, reception for guests, two bathrooms and a spacious independent common room on the upper floor.

In the midst of the vineyards, north of the manor house, is a small rural hamlet to be renovated consisting of two rustic farmhouses (340 m² – 3,658 ft² and 360 m² – 3,874 ft², respectively, up to 10 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms), both on two floors, and an old animal stable (125 m² – 1,345 ft²), very convenient as a tool storage. Under the vegetation, there used to be two agricultural storage buildings (25 m² – 269 ft² in total) that could be rebuilt and/or used as cubage to expand the existing buildings.

The property is completed by a vehicle shed (55 m² – 592 ft²) set at the edge of the vineyards.

The villa stands on the remains of a castle probably built in the 13th century by Siena to defend the area. By 1554 the (greatly expanded) fortress was owned by the Bellanti family, and under their leadership it succeeded in containing Florentine attacks in the area, thanks to the imposing 10-meter-high walls but also to the courage of the small garrison (25 men) stationed in the castle. The bastion was eventually forced to capitulate, as Florentine artillery had caused too much damage to the structure, but the Florentines paid a high price for their victory with the death of military engineer Giovanni Battista Belluzzi. The fall of the fortress did not mean the end for the estate: farming life continued, and in 1692 a tax payment on wine production at the estate is recorded.

On the remains of the castle, the manor house visible today was built (probably between the 18th and 19th centuries). The current appearance of the building dates to the early 20th century: an earthquake in fact damaged the villa in 1911, and much of the upper floors were removed to reduce the risk of collapse (to date, only ten of the forty rooms remain).

Of the original medieval structure, the quadrangular walls are still standing, albeit reduced in height, with the four corner towers rising above street level. Only two of the towers remain standing in their entirety (northwest and northeast corners).

In 1934 the impressive complex was purchased by a well-known Liberal Party politician and turned into a winery: the Chianti Classico produced even became the “wine of the house” at Palazzo Madama.

The winery spans approximately 102.1 hectares (252.3 acres) in total, lying on the rolling hills of Chianti. Pillars of the estate are undoubtedly the vineyard (28.5 ha divided into sixteen plots) and the olive grove (6.2 ha with plants of the Frantoio, Leccino and Moraiolo varieties). The company plans to plant an additional 3.8 ha of vineyards (with varieties to be defined) in addition to permits already obtained (expiring in 2025) for the planting of another 7.0 ha.

The remainder of the farm is then devoted to arable land (15.3 ha), woods (5.0 ha) and land pertaining to the buildings (1.6 ha) with gardens and maneuvering yards. A large private lake (about 10,000 m² in surface) also insists on the arable land, which can be used to irrigate the fields and vineyards when needed.

The farm has been in organic conversion since 2021, with final certification scheduled for 2024.

• Vineyards: 28.5 hectares (70.4 acres)
• Varieties: Sangiovese (72%), Merlot (13%), Cabernet Sauvignon (6%), Colorino (4%), Chardonnay (2%), Sauvignon Blanc (3%)
• Altitude and exposure: 320 – 480 m asl (north, east, southeast, south)
• Years of planting: 1999 – 2019
• Training: pruned-spur cordon (4,000 – 5,000 vines / ha)
• Soil composition: sandy, clayish, sandstone
• Yearly production: 1,000 hl (about 130,000 bottles)
• Markets reached: Italy (65%), Canada, Japan, Germany, Denmark, Southeast Asia, U.S.A.

The winery produces numerous DOCG (4 labels) and IGT (6 labels) wines, all of excellent quality as evidenced by the excellent ratings received from James Suckling (94/100), Falstaff (92/100), Wine Critic (93/100) and Wine Align (91/100) and awards at events such as Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, Wine Hunter and Decanter. The wines are also featured in the most renowned wine guides such as Slow Wine, Veronelli, Weinwisser and Bibenda.

• Chianti Classico DOCG: Sangiovese 90%, Merlot, Colorino
• Chianti Classico DOCG Riserva: Sangiovese 100%
• Chianti Classico DOCG Riserva: Sangiovese 90%, Merlot, Colorino
• Chianti Classico DOCG Gran Selezione: Sangiovese 90%, Merlot, Colorino
• Toscana Rosso IGT: Sangiovese 70%, Merlot 30%
• Toscana Rosso IGT: Cabernet Sauvignon 70%, Sangiovese 30%
• Toscana Rosso IGT: Merlot 90%, Sangiovese 10%
• Toscana Bianco IGT: Sauvignon Blanc 70%, Chardonnay 30%
• Toscana Rosé IGT: Sangiovese 100%
• Spumante Brut Rosé IGT: Sangiovese 100%

Town with services (1km; 2’), Radda in Chianti (10km; 15’), Castellina in Chianti (11km; 20’), Siena (16km; 30’), Gaiole in Chianti (16km; 25’), Monteriggioni (24km; 30’), Greve in Chianti (27km; 40’), Castelnuovo Berardenga (28km; 35’), San Gimignano (46km; 50’), Volterra (59km; 1h), Arezzo (70km; 1h 20’), Pienza (71km; 1h 20’), Montepulciano (76km; 1h 15’), Florence (80km; 1h 15’), Cortona (85km; 1h 15’)

Grosseto C. Baccarini (89km; 1h 20’), Firenze A. Vespucci (90km; 1h 15’), Pisa G. Galilei (124km; 1h 45’), Perugia San Francesco (129km; 1h 45’), Bologna G. Marconi (172km; 2h), Roma Ciampino (257km; 2h 55’), Roma Fiumicino (272km; 3h)