Why it matters
The producer
Alberto Bartali and his wife Leda Pucci planted their first vines on the slopes below Monteriggioni in 1927, on a hilltop that the medieval tower-ringed town had looked out over for seven centuries. What they started as a local concern is now a four-generation Tuscan operation that ships wine across five continents, with two farming estates and a bottling facility capable of filling 2.5 million bottles in a year.
That scale is the first thing to understand, because it shapes everything else. Casa Vinicola Alberto Bartali is a commercially organised producer, not a small family domaine. The bottling line is modern and rational. The winery holds over 18,000 hectolitres. And yet the family still farms its own land, still draws the Vernaccia di San Gimignano from vines the Bartali family acquired in 1968, and still carries the founding name on every label.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Monteriggioni sits on a low hill in the province of Siena, roughly midway between Florence and Siena, inside the broader Chianti zone that covers much of central Tuscany. The town sits inside the Chianti Classico denomination's outer boundary, which gives the Bartali Chianti Classico its appellation standing and its Sangiovese-only grape requirement.
The family's two farming estates reach across two distinct Tuscan geographies. Villa Casone is in the Monteriggioni area, close to the winery base. Campinoti lies roughly 30 kilometres northwest, in the San Gimignano zone, where the gentle hills facing the tower-town support the Vernaccia di San Gimignano appellation. That appellation is built on a single white grape, Vernaccia, grown in the sandy and clay soils around San Gimignano, and it produces a dry white with a characteristic bitter almond finish. The Campinoti vineyards face San Gimignano directly, and the 15 hectares there make both the Vernaccia and a portion of Chianti.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
At Campinoti, the Vernaccia di San Gimignano grapes are soft-pressed immediately after harvest in mid-September, then fermented in stainless steel at 16°C to preserve the grape's aromatic character. The wine rests on fine lees for three to four months, which adds a slight weight to the palate without altering the crisp, dry profile. The wine matures for three to four months on fine lees. The aromas are floral and fruity, the palate fresh and dry, and the finish carries the bitter almond note typical of Vernaccia.
The Chianti DOCG blends 80% Sangiovese with 20% Canaiolo, ferments at 28°C with twice-daily pump-overs, rests one to two months on lees, and reaches bottle roughly six months after harvest. The Chianti Classico is 100% Sangiovese with approximately 20 days of skin contact, malolactic conversion, and four to six months on lees before bottling at 18 to 20 months post-harvest, releasing some four months later. The extended skin contact builds tannin and deepens colour; the extra lees time rounds the mid-palate.
Wines to know
The range in view
The Bartali range covers four appellations and one full arc of Tuscan wine: a fresh everyday red, a serious mid-tier Sangiovese, a prestige Brunello, and a dry white from an estate vineyard.
Bartali Chianti DOCG is the entry point: 80% Sangiovese and 20% Canaiolo, bright ruby in colour, with fresh fruit aromas and a round, harmonious palate. It is bottled in multiple formats including the traditional straw-covered fiasco as well as standard 750ml, 375ml and 1.5-litre magnum. Light enough to serve with a wide range of dishes and released quickly, around six months from harvest.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
The Alberto Bartali Chianti Classico DOCG is the bottle that shows what the estate is doing with Sangiovese at its most committed level short of Brunello. It is 100% Sangiovese from the Chianti Classico denomination, with 20 days of skin contact for tannin depth, malolactic conversion for roundness, and a release schedule that puts nearly two years between harvest and market. The aromas run to cherry and mild spice; the palate is dry with firm tannin that the wine has already begun to resolve by the time it reaches the shelf. Decant it for 30 minutes and serve at 18 to 20 degrees.