Castello di Monsanto

Aldo Bianchi, a native of San Gimignano, purchased Castello di Monsanto in 1961. His son Fabrizio, together with Fabrizio's wife Giuliana, took up the property and began planting new vineyards and restoring its farmhouses. In 1962, Fabrizio decided to separately vinify the grapes from the estate's Il Poggio vineyard, where Sangiovese has been grown ever since. That wine became the first single-vineyard Chianti Classico cru, predating by decades the practice becoming standard in the appellation. In 1968 Fabrizio removed the traditional white grapes, Trebbiano and Malvasia, from the Il Poggio blend, a change that regulatory reform did not formally codify for Chianti Classico until 2006. The estate went on to plant the Il Salcio vineyard (then known as Valdigallo) and the Il Mulino vineyard in the 1970s, and in 1974 the Scanni vineyard's first harvest, planted exclusively to Sangiovese in 1968, produced the Fabrizio Bianchi Sangioveto Grosso. In the mid-1970s Fabrizio planted Cabernet Sauvignon at Il Mulino, and its first harvest in 1982 became Nemo, a name drawn from the saying "Nemo propheta in patria" (no man is a prophet in his own land).

• 1961: Aldo Bianchi purchases Castello di Monsanto
• 1962: Fabrizio Bianchi's separate vinification of Il Poggio becomes the first single-vineyard Chianti Classico cru
• 1968: white grapes Trebbiano and Malvasia removed from the Il Poggio blend, predating the 2006 regulatory reform
• 1974: first harvest of Fabrizio Bianchi Sangioveto Grosso from the Scanni vineyard (planted 1968)
• 1982: first harvest of Nemo, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Il Mulino, planted in the mid-1970s

Castello di Monsanto remains family owned and operated. Laura Bianchi, Fabrizio and Giuliana's daughter, joined the family business in 1989 after studying and briefly working in law. She had taken the lead of the estate's wine production by 1996 and today continues as proprietor alongside her father, Fabrizio. Since 2001, Laura and Fabrizio have worked with Andrea Giovannini, a noted Italian enologist, on the estate's winemaking. The estate's registered legal name is Fattoria Monsanto di Bianchi Fabrizio S.a.r.l., based at Via Monsanto 8 in Barberino Tavarnelle (FI). Laura's daughter Giulia Cecchi has also been involved in the estate's community initiatives, including a 2016 stint with Students for Humanity in Iringa, Tanzania, supporting the Working for Wasa solidarity project.

• Aldo Bianchi (purchased the estate 1961) to son Fabrizio Bianchi to granddaughter Laura Bianchi: three generations of family ownership
• Laura Bianchi joined the business in 1989 and has led the estate as proprietor since 1996
• Enologist Andrea Giovannini has collaborated with the family on winemaking since 2001
• Legal entity: Fattoria Monsanto di Bianchi Fabrizio S.a.r.l., Via Monsanto 8, Barberino Tavarnelle (FI)

Castello di Monsanto's estate covers 206 hectares in the San Donato in Poggio sub-zone of Chianti Classico, more than half of it wooded, with an additional 15 hectares of olive orchards. Vineyards total 72 hectares across four named sites, Il Poggio, Scanni, Il Mulino and Il Salcio, at altitudes between 280 and 320 meters. Of the 72 hectares, 56 are planted to Sangiovese; Il Poggio is the source vineyard, via massal selection, for the Sangiovese, Colorino and Canaiolo vines planted across the estate's other vineyards. Planting density runs around 5,000 to 5,500 vines per hectare, trained on guyot in some vineyards and spurred cordon in others. The estate looks out over the Elsa Valley, where mistral winds off the Tyrrhenian Sea moderate winter cold and summer heat. Galestro, a schistous rock, dominates the surface soils and gives the wines structure and acidity; on the estate's southern slope, galestro alternates with a looser tuff soil where fossils from the Cretaceous period have been found.

• 72 hectares of vineyard across four named sites: Il Poggio, Scanni, Il Mulino and Il Salcio, at 280 to 320 meters altitude
• 56 of the 72 vineyard hectares are planted to Sangiovese; Il Poggio supplies massal-selection material for the estate's other Sangiovese, Colorino and Canaiolo vines
• Il Salcio (formerly called Valdigallo), planted 1974, is a 6-hectare, mostly galestro-soil vineyard that grows the Fabrizio Bianchi Chardonnay
• Estate totals 206 hectares, more than half wooded, plus 15 hectares of olive orchards
• Predominant soil is galestro, with tuff and Cretaceous-era fossils on the estate's southern slope

The estate's castle walls date to 1740, and its oldest cellar section dates to the eighteenth century. A 300-meter underground tunnel for barrel storage was hand-dug between 1986 and 1992 by Mario Secci, Giotto Cicionesi and Romolo Bartalesi, using only marl stones from the vineyards and a medieval technique of wooden centring to shape a low Etruscan arch. The estate's wine archive, one of the largest in Italy, holds bottles dating back to 1962, the year of Il Poggio's first vintage. In the early 1970s the estate replaced wooden primary fermentation vats with temperature-controlled stainless steel, and swapped chestnut barrels for Slavonian oak to soften tannins. Today fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled, truncated conical steel vats with a délestage emptying system and pump-overs. The Il Poggio Chianti Classico Gran Selezione (Sangiovese with Canaiolo and Colorino) is aged in 3,800-liter oak casks for about 20 months, then two years in bottle. The Castello di Monsanto Riserva, first produced in 1962, is aged partly in 3,800-liter oak casks and partly in second-passage tonneaux for about 18 months, followed by six months in bottle. The estate's youngest label, Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico, first produced in 1990, ages 15 months in 3,800-liter French oak casks. Nemo, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, ages about 18 months in 500-liter French oak tonneaux followed by two years in bottle. The Fabrizio Bianchi Sangioveto Grosso, 100% Sangiovese from Scanni, ages about 20 months in 3,800-liter casks followed by two years in bottle.

• 300-meter underground tunnel cellar hand-dug 1986 to 1992 by Mario Secci, Giotto Cicionesi and Romolo Bartalesi using a medieval arch technique
• Wine archive, one of the largest in Italy, holds bottles dating to the 1962 first vintage
• Early 1970s: stainless steel fermentation tanks and Slavonian oak barrels replaced wooden vats and chestnut barrels
• Il Poggio Gran Selezione: 20 months in 3,800-liter oak casks, then two years in bottle; Riserva: about 18 months split between 3,800-liter casks and tonneaux, then six months in bottle
• Nemo: about 18 months in 500-liter French oak tonneaux, then two years in bottle

Castello di Monsanto sources 100% of its electricity from renewable origins, led by an 81 kWp solar panel system installed in 2023, with remaining demand met through EKOENERGY-certified power. The estate avoids herbicides, managing weeds between vine rows mechanically and building soil fertility with cover crops; packaging favors lightweight bottles and FSC-certified cartons. Visitors can book one of four guided experiences: a roughly 1.5-hour Classic tour with a three-wine tasting, a Convivium tour adding olive oil and a cured-meat and pecorino platter, a Cru tour with a four-wine tasting including two of the estate's crus, and a roughly two-hour Journey Back in Time vertical tasting (for a minimum of two people) that spans the three crus from 1980-era vintages to the current release.

• 100% renewable electricity, anchored by an 81 kWp solar system installed in 2023; remainder via EKOENERGY certification
• No herbicides; weeds managed mechanically between vine rows, soil fertility built with cover crops
• Four visit experiences by advance booking: Classic, Convivium, Cru and the vertical-tasting Journey Back in Time
• Journey Back in Time pairs current-vintage and historic bottlings of the estate's three crus, spanning 1980-era vintages to today

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.castellodimonsanto.it/en, https://www.castellodimonsanto.it/en/company-info, https://www.castellodimonsanto.it/en/vineyards, https://www.castellodimonsanto.it/en/winery, https://www.castellodimonsanto.it/en/cellar, https://www.castellodimonsanto.it/en/wines, https://www.castellodimonsanto.it/en/visit-monsanto, https://www.castellodimonsanto.it/en/sustainability, and the individual wine pages for Il Poggio, Castello di Monsanto Riserva, Nemo, Fabrizio Bianchi Sangioveto Grosso and Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico. Secondary sources: JamesSuckling.com (January 30, 2019), The Connected Table (December 23, 2017), Opening a Bottle, Musings on the Vine, VinConnect, Tuscany Villas and International Cellars. Last verified 2026-09-14. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.