Why it matters
The producer
Fattoria Viticcio has farmed the hillside vineyards around Greve in Chianti since 1964, working land that sits at the geographical and qualitative centre of the Chianti Classico zone, between Florence and Siena. The estate holds 120 hectares across the Chianti Classico hills and the Maremma, with roughly 60 of those hectares planted to vines under organic management. A separate Bolgheri portfolio extends the range to the Tuscan coast.
Sangiovese anchors the estate's Chianti Classico production, but the range runs wider: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Syrah, and Vermentino all grow on estate ground. The hierarchy climbs from Chianti Classico DOCG through the Beatrice Gran Selezione, named for a daughter of the Landini family, to a pair of bottles that leave the Chianti Classico appellation entirely. Monile, a Toscana Rosso IGT blending Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from old estate vineyards, sits alongside Viticcio Bolgheri, a Bolgheri Rosso DOC from the coastal holding.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Greve in Chianti is the main market town of the Chianti Classico zone, positioned in the valley that runs south from Florence toward Siena. The vineyards that supply Viticcio's Chianti Classico range climb the hillsides above the town, where altitude, hillside exposure, and the dry Tuscan summer combine to moderate ripening and preserve the firm acidity that Sangiovese needs to age.
Chianti Classico is a DOCG, a protected designation of origin at the top of Italian wine law, and the zone's regulations require Sangiovese to form the majority of any wine carrying the name. Within that framework, Gran Selezione is the highest category: wines must come from a single vineyard or the estate's best selection, and spend a minimum of thirty months before release. Viticcio's Beatrice occupies that tier.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
At harvest, the estate applies a double selection in the vineyard before the grapes reach the cellar. A further hand sort on a sorting table removes anything that escaped the field pass. The varieties are then vinified separately at controlled temperatures, a practice that allows the cellar to track how each variety is developing before any blending decisions are made.
For the red wines, the grapes are pressed gently to avoid extracting harsh compounds from the skins, and racking is carried out with oxygen excluded to keep the wine clean and fruit-forward from the earliest stages. Maturation takes place in French oak barrels and tonneaux, chosen by the estate rather than selected through a standard supplier list. French oak at the barrel and larger tonneau scale gives the wines oak character without the more aggressive vanilla and spice that smaller new barrels can impose.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range divides across three appellations, each with a different grape logic.
The Chianti Classico DOCG wines are Sangiovese-led, drawn from the hillside vineyards around Greve. They carry the red fruit, dried herb, and firm tannin that Sangiovese on galestro and alberese produces: cherries and dried tomato leaf on the nose, a mid-palate with some grip, and the acid line needed to cut through food. The Beatrice Gran Selezione takes the best selection from those same vineyards, ages longer, and arrives with more concentration, finer tannin from the extended ageing, and greater capacity to develop in bottle.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with Monile Toscana Rosso IGT. It is Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from old estate vineyards, grown in the Chianti Classico hills but vinified outside the appellation rules as a Super Tuscan. The old vine origin concentrates the fruit without adding extract or weight; the Merlot keeps the tannins round and the body generous, while the Cabernet Sauvignon holds the line at the finish. In the glass: dark cherry, a hint of cedar from the French oak, full body, and tannins that are silky rather than grippy.