Fèlsina

Domenico Poggiali, whose family came from Emilia-Romagna, bought the Fèlsina property in 1966, when Italian viticulture was struggling, and chose to invest in wine quality. The estate was then a 300-hectare hunting reserve with 9 hectares of vines; Domenico bought it first for the hunting and then saw its winemaking potential. Fèlsina is an Etruscan place name, the name Pliny the Elder used in his Naturalis Historia for the ancient predecessor of Bologna, and Castelnuovo Berardenga likely hosted an Etruscan colony. In the Roman era the site was a post station and resting place on a well-traveled road. Fèlsina was once the farm of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany; by the early 1900s it was already bottling wine under the direction of the noble Florentine Busatti family, who gave the villa, church, and other buildings their current eighteenth-century appearance. The first Fèlsina Chianti Classico Berardenga came from the 1967 vintage, and the 1970 and 1971 vintages carried a label designed by the artist Silvio Coppola. In the second half of the 1970s Giuseppe Mazzocolin, Domenico's son-in-law, joined the family business to lead commercial development, while Domenico's son Giuseppe Poggiali stayed closely involved in the estate. Franco Bernabei began his collaboration as oenologist in 1983, the year Fontalloro and Rancia were first produced. Giovanni Poggiali, the oldest of Giuseppe Poggiali's three sons and so Domenico's grandson, joined the business in 1990 and is the estate's CEO.

• Domenico Poggiali, from Emilia-Romagna, bought the property in 1966, then a 300-hectare hunting reserve with 9 hectares of vines
• First Chianti Classico Berardenga vintage: 1967; the 1970 and 1971 vintages carried a label designed by artist Silvio Coppola
• Giuseppe Mazzocolin, Domenico's son-in-law, joined in the second half of the 1970s to lead commercial development
• Franco Bernabei began his oenology collaboration in 1983, the year Fontalloro and Rancia debuted; Giovanni Poggiali, Giuseppe Poggiali's oldest son, joined in 1990 and is CEO

Gambero Rosso and Slow Food named Fattoria di Felsina their Cantina dell'Anno (Winery of the Year) in the 2009 edition of their guide, when Giuseppe Mazzocolin ran the estate; the same edition gave Tre Bicchieri to the 2005 vintages of both the Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia and Fontalloro. The award tables on the estate's wine pages list repeated Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri, Wine Spectator, Wine Advocate, and Decanter recognition for Rancia, Fontalloro, and other wines across vintages from the 1980s onward, with no results added after roughly 2016 or 2017. Wine Advocate scored Colonia 96+ for the 2011 vintage, 97 for 2013, and 98 for 2015. In a January 2024 profile, wine writer Jamie Goode scored the Colonia 2020 Gran Selezione and the Colonia 2019 at 95 points each, the Fontalloro 2019 at 94, and the Rancia 2019 at 93.

• Gambero Rosso and Slow Food named Fèlsina Cantina dell'Anno (Winery of the Year) in the guide's 2009 edition, when Giuseppe Mazzocolin ran the winery
• The same 2009 guide edition gave Tre Bicchieri to the 2005 vintages of both Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia and Fontalloro
• The estate's award tables list repeated Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri, Wine Spectator, Wine Advocate, and Decanter recognition across vintages from the 1980s onward, with no updates after around 2016-2017
• Jamie Goode, in a January 2024 profile, scored the Colonia 2020 Gran Selezione and Colonia 2019 at 95/100 each, Fontalloro 2019 at 94/100, and Rancia 2019 at 93/100

Fèlsina's vineyards sit at 320 to 420 meters above sea level with predominantly southwest exposures. The higher, Chianti Classico-side parcels are predominantly calcareous alberese and rock quartz mixed with alluvial pebbles; toward the Crete Senesi, in the parcels nearer Chianti Colli Senesi, the soil shifts to stratiform sandstone and loam. Published figures for the property's size differ. The estate's Farm page gives 500 hectares overall with 90 under vine, and its Territory page gives 600 hectares with 95 under vine. Jamie Goode, in a January 2024 profile, put the estate at roughly 500 hectares, with 300 hectares of forest and 72 of vineyard, and the Tuscany wine portal Italy's Finest Wines also gives 72 hectares of vineyard. Vines are planted at about 5,400 per hectare (5,435 in the Colonia parcel). Training varies by wine: Berardenga and Berardenga Riserva use bilateral cordon and simple Guyot, Rancia and Fontalloro use bilateral cordon, Colonia alone uses a vertical trellis with spurred cordon and simple Guyot, and the Vin Santo vines use simple Guyot alone. A massal selection program began in 1983 with Franco Bernabei to preserve the estate's diverse Sangiovese heritage; since 1993 Giovanni Poggiali has continued replanting and researching the variety, and most of the grafting and replanting took place between 1990 and the early 2000s. Fèlsina completed its conversion to organic farming on 7 March 2015, certified by ICEA (Istituto di Certificazione Etica e Ambientale), and as of January 2024 was trialling biochar production with a forestry family in Romagna.

• Vineyards sit at 320-420 meters with predominantly southwest exposure; higher, Chianti Classico-side soils are calcareous alberese and rock quartz with alluvial pebbles, while parcels toward the Crete Senesi run to sandstone and loam
• Size figures differ: the estate's Farm page gives 500 hectares with 90 under vine, its Territory page 600 hectares with 95 under vine, and a January 2024 profile roughly 500 hectares with 72 of vineyard
• Vines are planted at about 5,400 per hectare (5,435 in the Colonia parcel); training runs from bilateral cordon on Berardenga, Riserva, Rancia, and Fontalloro (with simple Guyot added on Berardenga and Riserva) to Colonia's vertical trellis with spurred cordon and simple Guyot, and grafting and replanting from decades of massal selection was largely completed between 1990 and the early 2000s
• Certified organic since completing its conversion on 7 March 2015 (ICEA); as of January 2024 the estate was trialling biochar production with a forestry family in Romagna

The red range follows one pattern: quality-selected clusters are destemmed and pressed, and the must ferments and macerates in stainless steel at 28 to 30 degrees Celsius with programmed punchdowns and daily pumpovers before aging and bottling. Rancia and Colonia are exclusively hand-harvested; Fontalloro is hand-harvested in two selective passes. The Chianti Classico Berardenga macerates for 12 to 15 days, then spends 12 months in medium-sized Slavonian oak barrels (a small portion in twice- and thrice-used barrels) and a minimum of 3 months in bottle. The Riserva macerates 14 to 16 days and ages 12 to 16 months in Slavonian oak and twice- and thrice-used French oak, with a minimum of 3 to 6 months in bottle. Rancia macerates 16 to 20 days and ages 18 to 20 months in new French oak, with a minimum of 6 to 8 months in bottle. Fontalloro also macerates 16 to 20 days, then ages 18 to 22 months in new and once-used French oak, with a minimum of 8 to 12 months in bottle. Colonia macerates 16 to 20 days and ages 30 months in new French oak, with a minimum of 8 to 12 months in bottle. Vin Santo takes a different path: grapes dry naturally on mats until January or February, are destemmed and pressed, and the must goes into sealed 100-liter oak casks holding the mother from previous vintages; the wine spends 7 years in the estate's vinsantaia loft and a minimum of 6 months in bottle.

• Chianti Classico Berardenga: 12-15 days of stainless-steel fermentation and maceration at 28-30C, then 12 months in medium Slavonian oak barrels and a minimum 3 months in bottle
• Berardenga Riserva: 14-16 days maceration, 12-16 months in Slavonian and twice/thrice-used French oak, minimum 3-6 months bottle age
• Rancia: 16-20 days maceration, 18-20 months in new French oak, minimum 6-8 months bottle age. Fontalloro: 16-20 days maceration, 18-22 months in new and once-used French oak, minimum 8-12 months bottle age
• Colonia Gran Selezione: 16-20 days maceration, 30 months in new French oak, minimum 8-12 months bottle age

The Chianti Classico Berardenga, first made in the 1967 vintage, is a 100% Sangiovese DOCG and the estate's cornerstone bottling. The Berardenga Riserva, also first made in 1967, is a selection of the best grapes from the estate's Chianti Classico vineyards. Fontalloro, first produced in 1983, is a 100% Sangiovese Toscana IGT from the Poggio al Sole and Arcidossino areas, straddling the border between Chianti Classico and Chianti Colli Senesi: its Chianti Classico-side plots sit in Fèlsina's highest vineyard area, and its Colli Senesi-side plots lie lower, at 330 to 407 meters above sea level. Rancia, also first produced in 1983, is a 100% Sangiovese Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG from the Poggio a Rancia vineyard at 400 to 420 meters, on limestone-derived alberese and galestro marl, and takes its name from the historic Rancia farmhouse, once a Benedictine monastery. The estate's product page labels it Riserva; the Tuscany wine portal Italy's Finest Wines lists a 2021-vintage bottling as 'Chianti Classico Rancia Gran Selezione.' Colonia, first bottled with the 2006 vintage, is a 100% Sangiovese Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG limited to 3,000 numbered bottles and dedicated by Giovanni Poggiali to his grandfather Domenico. The Colonia vineyard, atop Poggio a Rancia and surrounded by forest, took decades to establish: planting began under Domenico and his son Giuseppe in 1966 and continued until the late 1970s, then stopped in the mid-1980s because the ground was too rocky to work without dynamite, which was restricted in Italy at the time. Giovanni Poggiali restarted the project in 1991 and completed planting in 1993, the year before Domenico's death in 1994. Fèlsina's Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC is made from Trebbiano, Malvasia, and Sangiovese.

• Chianti Classico Berardenga (first vintage 1967): 100% Sangiovese DOCG fermented in stainless steel, the estate's cornerstone bottling
• Fontalloro (first vintage 1983): 100% Sangiovese Toscana IGT from the Poggio al Sole and Arcidossino vineyards straddling the Chianti Classico/Colli Senesi border, aged 18-22 months in French oak
• Rancia (first vintage 1983): 100% Sangiovese Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG from the Poggio a Rancia vineyard, named for the historic Rancia farmhouse, once a Benedictine monastery
• Colonia (first vintage 2006): 100% Sangiovese Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG from the parcel atop Poggio a Rancia, limited to 3,000 numbered bottles and dedicated to Domenico Poggiali

Fèlsina's current range includes the red Sangiovese wines Berardenga, Berardenga Riserva, Rancia, Fontalloro, and Colonia, alongside Maestro Raro, the Chardonnay I Sistri, and Nero di Nubi; Vin Santo del Chianti Classico; and Metodo Classico sparkling wines (Spumante Brut, Spumante Blanc de Noirs, Spumante Brut Millesimato, and Spumante Brut Rose). Fèlsina is also a working farm that raises goats, hens, quail, ducks, and guinea fowl, keeps its own row garden, and has made monocultivar and blended olive oils under the 'Olio secondo Veronelli' project since 2002, from four cultivars: Pendolino, Leccino, Moraiolo, and Raggiolo. Italy's Finest Wines puts annual production at about 565,000 bottles. Colonia is limited to 3,000 numbered bottles. Fèlsina remains a family business, in its third generation with Giovanni Poggiali as CEO, on Via del Chianti in Castelnuovo Berardenga, Siena province.

• Current range: Berardenga, Berardenga Riserva, Rancia, Fontalloro, and Colonia in red Sangiovese, plus Maestro Raro, Chardonnay I Sistri, Nero di Nubi, Vin Santo, and several Spumante sparkling wines, alongside monocultivar and blended olive oils
• Italy's Finest Wines puts annual production at about 565,000 bottles and vineyard area at 72 hectares
• Colonia Gran Selezione is limited to 3,000 numbered bottles
• The estate remains a family business, in its third generation with Giovanni Poggiali as CEO, on Via del Chianti in Castelnuovo Berardenga, Siena province

Primary sources (Fèlsina's own site, felsina.it, fetched as raw page text via curl and tag-stripping, not a summarizing tool): https://www.felsina.it/en/home/, .../bio-felsina/ (organic certification), .../fattoria-di-felsina/ (Farm), .../cantina-fattoria/ (Cellar), .../il-sangiovese-a-felsina/ (Sangiovese), .../i-prodotti-di-felsina/ (products), .../ospitalita-a-felsina/ (visiting), .../annate/ (vintage notes), .../contact/, .../home-territorio-frontiera/ (Frontier land), .../felsina-cultura_del_territorio/ (Territory), and the individual product pages for Berardenga, Berardenga Riserva, Rancia, Colonia, Fontalloro, and Vin Santo. Secondary sources (also fetched as raw page text): the Chianti Classico consorzio's official wine-types page (chianticlassico.com), a January 2024 Fèlsina estate-visit profile by wine writer Jamie Goode (wineanorak.com), a 24 October 2008 WineNews.it report on the Gambero Rosso/Slow Food Vini d'Italia 2009 awards, and a Fèlsina producer profile on the Tuscany wine portal Italy's Finest Wines. Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs; see conflicts.json for the estate-size discrepancy between two of the producer's own pages, the Rancia Riserva/Gran Selezione classification discrepancy, and the bottle-count and vineyard-hectare figures sourced only to secondary coverage.