Why it matters
The producer
Castello di Fonterutoli stands on a slope above Castellina in Chianti, in the province of Siena, where the Mazzei family has farmed the same ground since 1435. Few wine families in Italy carry an unbroken land record that long. The home estate is 650 hectares in total, with 110 of those under vine, cut into 114 individual parcels spread across the altitude band that Chianti Classico producers prize for the cool nights that keep Sangiovese's acidity alive.
The family now operates three estates. Castello di Fonterutoli anchors the range in Chianti Classico. Tenuta Belguardo, a 94-hectare coastal property with 48 hectares of vines, was bought in the 1990s and replanted from scratch with selected varieties and clones. Zisola, a 50-hectare property at Noto in the southeast of Sicily, contributes 24 hectares under vine and the sunwashed conditions that Nero d'Avola and Vermentino need. Francesco Mazzei has represented the family in wine media internationally.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Castellina in Chianti sits close to the geographic centre of Chianti Classico, the appellation that runs between Florence and Siena in Tuscany's rolling interior. The Chianti Classico zone is defined by a combination of altitude, limestone-rich soils, and the diurnal temperature swings that let Sangiovese ripen fully while keeping its characteristic acidity sharp. Fonterutoli's 110 vineyard hectares span from 220 metres at the valley floor to 570 metres on the upper slopes: the higher parcels produce tighter, more aromatic fruit; the lower ones give weight and flesh.
Belguardo in Maremma Toscana, the coastal DOC that runs along the Tyrrhenian coast south of Livorno, operates under different conditions: warmer, more Mediterranean, with sea breezes that temper summer heat. Zisola at Noto, in Sicily's dry southeastern tip, pushes even further: long hot summers, volcanic influence in the soils, and the kind of sun that concentrates Nero d'Avola into deep, plum-weighted reds.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The 114 parcels at Fonterutoli are not farmed as a single unit. Dividing the estate into named zones by elevation and aspect allows the cellar to receive fruit that already carries the character of its specific slope rather than averaging those differences away. Higher parcels, harvested later due to altitude, contribute aromatic lift and firmer acidity to the blend; lower parcels add body.
Vicoregio 36 grew from an extreme version of this parcel logic. A single plot was planted with 36 distinct Sangiovese biotypes, different clonal selections of the same grape variety, and the wine is vinified and bottled from that one parcel. Each biotype behaves differently through the season, ripening at a slightly different rate, contributing a different tannin weight or aromatic register. The wine is aged in French oak. What leaves the cellar is technically a monovarietal Sangiovese, but its internal complexity comes from the fact that 36 genetic variations of that grape are all present in the same glass.
Wines to know
The range in view
The Chianti Classico range at Fonterutoli is built on Sangiovese, with Malvasia and Colorino as secondary varieties. Sangiovese brings firm tannin, high natural acidity, and cherry fruit that ranges from sour to dark depending on altitude and vintage. Malvasia adds aromatic softness; Colorino contributes colour and a touch of flesh. Chianti Classico, with its DOCG designation, is the appellation wine: red, dry, and anchored to the grape and the limestone slopes that Chianti Classico producers argue produce their most characteristic expression.
Siepi is the flagship IGT Toscana, a category that sits outside the Chianti Classico appellation rules and allows the winemaker greater freedom with grape varieties. The 2023 vintage is an equal blend of Sangiovese and Merlot. Merlot contributes half of the blend, and the wine shows plum and berry notes. The wine is aged with care for long-term development, and the estate notes significant ageing potential.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with the Fonterutoli Chianti Classico. It is the home estate, the home appellation, and the home grape in a single bottle: Sangiovese on Alberese and sandstone, harvested from parcels between 220 and 570 metres, vinified under the Chianti Classico DOCG rules that require Sangiovese to dominate. The wine is dry and red, with the sour cherry fruit, firm acidity and chalky mineral grip that the soils and altitude produce. It is not the most complex bottle in the range, but it is the clearest argument for what the Mazzei family does on their home slope: farm Sangiovese on difficult limestone ground and bottle it without softening the edges.