Wine Barone Ricasoli, “Astuto”, Bolgheri Superiore DOC, 2018

The project “Bolgheri Barone Ricasoli” is the first concrete example of diversification undertaken winery towards finding other concepts important Tuscan wines. High quality wine – “Astuto”, 2011 – was the result of a creative collaboration with the economy’s sake Sapayo and with the direct participation of the winemaker Barone Ricasoli – Carlo Ferrini. Gorgeous style of wine “Astuto” – the result of extensive experience of Barone Ricasoli and fertile lands of Tuscany.

2011 season showed very good conditions for vegetation in the region of Bolgheri: harsh winter with temperature measurements below the average in the spring gave way to soft with increasing heavy rains, which provided the root system of a sufficient supply of moisture. The summer was long and hot, with a temperature within the average, except for the middle of July, when temperatures rose well above normal. The essential difference between day and night temperatures and proximity to the sea helped prevent the threatening drought and allowed the grapes of different varieties ripen symmetrically and at the right time. Vinification “Astuto” took place in stainless steel tanks at controlled temperature. Withstands wine in French oak barrels for 18 months. After bottling, the wine went further maturation in bottles for 10 months.

Ricasoli family has ancient roots and is the fourth oldest in the world of family businesses. It is also the oldest company in Italy, the family owns the castle Ricasoli Castello di Brolio with 1141. Ricasoli were among the first who devoted himself to the development of agriculture and viticulture. It is known that since the late 1600’s, the family made the first export in Amsterdam and England. And since the beginning of the 1900s, wine Broglio known and exported all over the world: from China to Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Costa Rica. One of his ancestors, Baron Bettino Ricasoli (1809-1880), nicknamed the “Iron Baron”, more than 30 years conducted research and experiments with the aim of producing high quality wines of Chianti, able to compete on an international level with the great French wines. Baron has fulfilled this mission to unlock the potential of the terroir Broglio, combining processes and applied science with the principles of winemaking. In 1867, wine Ricasoli won the first gold medal at the International Exhibition in Paris.

Activities Baron gave not just a boost to the development of winemaking in Chianti. In accordance with modern principles of economy and agriculture, Bettino Ricasoli contributed to the development of roads and railways in the region and many other progressive movements. “Currently, our research nearly a thousand years,” – says the great-grandson Bettino Ricasoli – Francesco, managing since 1993 the company, which owns 240 hectares of vineyards and 26 hectares of olive groves in the beautiful and rich diversity of soils and climate of the Chianti region. He continues the noble cause of ancestors, maintaining the quality and character of the great wines of Broglio, conducting tests, assessing the unique features of the area and its history, winning the highest awards world-class and giving new value culture and art of wine drinking.