Castell'in Villa

The property at Castelnuovo Berardenga traces its origins to a 13th-century medieval hamlet, though its modern winemaking story begins in 1968 when Coralia Pignatelli della Leonessa and her husband acquired the estate with just one hectare of vines. The first commercial vintage followed in 1971, the same year the single-vineyard Riserva Poggio delle Rose was born, establishing a benchmark that still defines the estate today. Through the 1980s and 1990s, when much of Chianti pivoted to barrique aging and international grape varieties, Castell'in Villa held its course with traditional Sangiovese and large botti, a decision that looked contrarian at the time but prescient in hindsight. The estate's approach attracted the attention of Giacomo Tachis, who came on as mentor and consultant from 1977 and famously purchased early Castle fruit for his work on Tignanello.

• Property history dates to a 13th-century medieval hamlet in Castelnuovo Berardenga, Siena
• Acquired 1968 with just 1 hectare of vines; first vintage produced in 1971
• Giacomo Tachis, oenologist behind Sassicaia and Tignanello, mentored the estate from 1977 onwards
• Remained committed to traditional Sangiovese throughout the barrique-driven modernist wave of the 1980s and 1990s

Castell'in Villa is unusual among Italy's celebrated estates in being a single-generation story still in its first chapter. Coralia Pignatelli della Leonessa, known locally and affectionately as La Principessa, founded the estate and remains its active proprietor as of 2025. Her selective release philosophy shapes everything from the decision to sell surplus fruit rather than overcrowd the cellar, to the practice of holding wines back in bottle for extended pre-release aging to ensure they arrive ready to drink or cellar. Consulting oenologist Federico Staderini, who presented new releases in June 2024 and continues to collaborate with the estate, supports this vision without displacing the classical framework Coralia established. The estate also operates a wine hospitality and restaurant program, welcoming visitors who wish to explore library vintages firsthand.

• Coralia Pignatelli della Leonessa remains active as proprietor and founding visionary as of July 2025
• Known informally as La Principessa, she is a first-generation founder with no generational transition yet
• Consulting oenologist Federico Staderini has collaborated on new releases including presentations in June 2024
• Estate hosts a wine hospitality and restaurant program with library vintage access for visitors

The Castell'in Villa estate covers 298 hectares in total, of which 54 are planted to vine, set within a landscape that also includes ancient forests managed to support biodiversity. Eight distinct vineyard sites cover a variety of Tuscan terroirs, with soils ranging from alluvial deposits of pebbles and sand to parcels with limestone and clay. The most celebrated parcel is Poggio delle Rose, the single-vineyard source for the Riserva of the same name, a wine whose first vintage coincided with the estate's founding in 1971. Viticulture is practiced organically without formal certification, with cover crops used throughout the vineyards. The estate's decision to sell the fruit from roughly 380,000 bottles worth of potential production while bottling only around 100,000 underscores the depth of the quality-over-quantity conviction here.

• 298-hectare total estate with 54 hectares under vine across eight distinct sites in Castelnuovo Berardenga
• Soils vary across parcels: alluvial with pebbles and sand on some sites; limestone and clay on others
• Poggio delle Rose is the flagship single-vineyard Riserva site, in production since the first vintage in 1971
• Organic viticulture practiced without formal certification; ancient forests maintained for biodiversity

Winemaking at Castell'in Villa is defined by restraint and patience rather than intervention. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel using indigenous yeasts, preserving the native character of each vintage, and aging occurs exclusively in large Slavonian oak botti that impart gentle oxidative complexity without the vanilla and toast signature of small French barriques. The Riserva wines receive a minimum two-year hold before release, and the Vin Santo spends at least 15 years in small oak before it is deemed ready. The estate bottles only a fraction of its vineyard's potential, reflecting a deliberate choice to concentrate quality in every bottle released. Santa Croce, a Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon blend released under the Toscana Rosso IGT designation, offers a counterpoint to the Chianti Classico range without abandoning the estate's commitment to long aging.

• Fermentation in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts; no use of small French barriques for Chianti Classico aging
• Aging in large Slavonian oak botti across the Chianti Classico range, including the Riserva and single-vineyard Poggio delle Rose
• Chianti Classico Riserva held a minimum two years in bottle before release; Vin Santo aged 15-plus years in small oak
• Santa Croce (Sangiovese-Cabernet Sauvignon blend) released under Toscana Rosso IGT for extended library aging

Castell'in Villa occupies a singular position in Chianti Classico as an estate that stayed classicist when classicism was unfashionable and emerged vindicated when critical taste swung back toward tradition. Its wines regularly demonstrate that Sangiovese from Castelnuovo Berardenga, aged properly in large botti without barrique interference, is capable of 40-plus years of evolution, a claim backed by a continuous library stretching to 1971. The 2019 Chianti Classico earned 94 points from Vinous and 93 from Decanter in 2025, confirming that the estate's approach resonates with the contemporary critical mainstream without having chased it. For students of Italian wine, the estate illustrates the philosophical divide between modernist and traditionalist schools in Chianti Classico, and the enduring relevance of the latter. The sheer limitation of production, well below vineyard capacity, makes every bottle a deliberate choice rather than a commercial calculation.

• Demonstrated 40-plus years of aging potential in Chianti Classico, with library vintages extending back to 1971
• 2019 Chianti Classico scored 94 points (Vinous) and 93 points (Decanter) in 2025 reviews
• Described by Antonio Galloni of Vinous in June 2024 as a reference point among reference points in the appellation
• Emblematic case study in the traditionalist versus modernist debate that defined Chianti Classico from the 1980s onward