Fontodi

Fontodi has belonged to the Manetti family since 1968. The family has been associated for centuries with another activity typical of the Chianti region, the production of terracotta tiles. The brothers Marco and Giovanni Manetti split the responsibilities: Marco ran the tile company, while Giovanni took charge of the wine estate. Under the family, the estate has moved toward ever more careful vineyard work and a deeper knowledge of Sangiovese in the Panzano zone. Flaccianello della Pieve was created in 1981 with the help of oenologist Franco Bernabei (d. 2026). At the time, Chianti regulations required a proportion of white grapes and prohibited 100% Sangiovese wines, so Flaccianello was labelled as table wine. Originally a single-vineyard wine, it became a selection of the best grapes from the best parcels in 2001.

• Owned by the Manetti family since 1968; Marco Manetti took on the family's terracotta tile business and Giovanni Manetti the wine estate.
• Flaccianello della Pieve created in 1981 as a 100% Sangiovese, labelled as table wine under the Chianti rules of the time.
• Flaccianello became a selection of the best parcels in 2001, excluding the Vigna del Sorbo vineyard.

Giovanni Manetti took charge of the family's wine estate. He was president of the Chianti Classico consortium (Consorzio Chianti Classico) by the 2018 harvest and still held the post. The family's third generation was involved in the wine business: Giovanni's daughter Margherita since 2018, his son Bernardo since 2020, and Marco Manetti's son Corso since 2018. Franco Bernabei (d. 2026) was a consulting oenologist for Fontodi.

• Giovanni Manetti: took charge of the wine estate; president of the Chianti Classico consortium by the 2018 harvest and still in office.
• Marco Manetti: took on the family's terracotta tile company.
• Third generation: Margherita Manetti (since 2018), Bernardo Manetti (since 2020) and Corso Manetti (since 2018).
• Franco Bernabei (d. 2026): consulting oenologist.

Fontodi lies in the heart of Chianti Classico, in the valley south of the town of Panzano known as the Conca d'Oro (the golden shell) for its amphitheatre shape. The site combines high altitude, calcareous clay-schist soil, plenty of light and a warm, dry microclimate with a marked difference between day and night temperatures. The estate covers 220 hectares, of which more than 100 are planted to vine. It is certified organic, and was still in organic conversion in 2001. No synthetic chemical products are used, and the vineyards are fertilised with compost made from pruning residues and manure from the Chianina cattle raised on the estate. Flaccianello typically comes from the highest plots, Pecille, Il Poggio and La Cappellina, which reach an altitude of 500 metres. Filetta di Lamole comes from around 8 hectares of terraced vineyards in the village of Lamole, at 600 metres.

• Conca d'Oro: the amphitheatre-shaped valley south of Panzano.
• 220 hectares in total, more than 100 under vine; certified organic.
• Compost from pruning residues and the manure of the estate's Chianina cattle; no synthetic chemical products.
• Highest plots, the usual source of Flaccianello: Pecille, Il Poggio and La Cappellina, reaching 500 metres.
• All the vineyards behind the range are Guyot-trained; those for Flaccianello, Terrazze San Leolino, Chianti Classico and Filetta di Lamole are planted at 6,000 vines per hectare.

All Fontodi wines are made from grapes from the estate's own vineyards, picked by hand. Vinification and ageing in wood take place in a modern cellar built on descending levels so that it works by gravity. The Sangiovese reds ferment with indigenous yeasts for at least three weeks, in stainless steel tanks except for Filetta di Lamole, which ferments in concrete vats; Case Via Pinot Noir ferments in terracotta amphorae for four weeks. Flaccianello has always been matured in French barriques. Giovanni Manetti slowly increased its time in wood from 12 to 24 months and its share of new oak to 100%; in the five years to 2018 he began taking it out of barrique earlier to finish maturation in 25-hectolitre casks, with new wood reduced to 70 to 80%.

• Hand-picked fruit from the estate's own vineyards; cellar on descending levels working by gravity.
• Indigenous yeasts; fermentation and maceration of at least three weeks for the Sangiovese reds.
• Flaccianello, Vigna del Sorbo and Terrazze San Leolino: 24 months in French oak barrels and casks; Chianti Classico: at least 18 months.
• Vin Santo: grapes naturally dried for five months, then nine years in chestnut and oak barrels of 50 and 110 litres.

Flaccianello della Pieve (Colli Toscana Centrale IGT) is 100% Sangiovese from a selection of the best vineyards, with an average production of 60,000 bottles. The two Chianti Classico DOCG Gran Selezione wines are both 100% Sangiovese: Vigna del Sorbo, from the south-west-facing vineyard of that name (25,000 bottles), and Terrazze San Leolino (5,000 bottles). The Chianti Classico DOCG comes from various vineyards within the property (170,000 bottles), and Filetta di Lamole is a 100% Sangiovese Chianti Classico DOCG from Lamole (25,000 bottles). The range also includes Case Via Pinot Noir and Case Via Syrah (both Colli Toscana Centrale IGT), Meriggio (90% Sauvignon Blanc and 10% Trebbiano, from the La Rota vineyard), a Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC from 50% Sangiovese and 50% Malvasia, and two Chianti Classico DOP extra virgin olive oils, one of them Correggiolo.

• Flaccianello della Pieve: Colli Toscana Centrale IGT, 100% Sangiovese, about 60,000 bottles.
• Vigna del Sorbo: Chianti Classico DOCG Gran Selezione, 100% Sangiovese, south-west exposure, about 25,000 bottles.
• Terrazze San Leolino: Chianti Classico DOCG Gran Selezione, 100% Sangiovese, about 5,000 bottles.
• Chianti Classico (about 170,000 bottles) and Filetta di Lamole (about 25,000 bottles): both 100% Sangiovese, Chianti Classico DOCG.
• Case Via Pinot Noir (about 3,000 bottles), Case Via Syrah (about 5,000), Meriggio (about 10,000) and Vin Santo del Chianti Classico (about 1,300 half-bottles).

Fontodi vinifies its grapes to bring out the character of the vines and the territory, and holds that respecting the environment means wines that are "better, purer, and a truer expression of the grape and the territory." Giovanni Manetti credits Franco Bernabei with helping him "to express the terroir characteristics" without imposing his own style. Writing in Decanter in 2018, Michaela Morris named Montevertine's Le Pergole Torte, Isole e Olena's Cepparello, Fèlsina's Fontalloro and San Giusto a Rentennano's Percarlo as Flaccianello's closest peers, called it "a complete wine that deftly allies elegance and power," and judged it best between 10 and 25 years old, depending on the vintage.

• Fontodi aims to bring out the character of the vines and the territory.
• Michaela Morris (Decanter, 2018) called Flaccianello "a complete wine that deftly allies elegance and power."

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.fontodi.com/en/, https://www.fontodi.com/en/Chi-siamo.html, https://www.fontodi.com/en/Flaccianello.html, https://www.fontodi.com/en/Vigna-del-Sorbo.html, https://www.fontodi.com/en/Terrazze-San-Leolino.html, https://www.fontodi.com/en/Chianti-Classico-Fontodi.html, https://www.fontodi.com/en/Filetta-di-Lamole.html, https://www.fontodi.com/en/Case-Via-Pinot-Noir.html, https://www.fontodi.com/en/Case-Via-Syrah.html, https://www.fontodi.com/en/Meriggio.html, https://www.fontodi.com/en/Vin-Santo.html, https://www.fontodi.com/en/Prodotti.html, https://www.fontodi.com/Chi-siamo.html. Secondary sources: Decanter (Michaela Morris, last updated 7 November 2018) and Wine Spectator (Bruce Sanderson, April 2026 issue; and July 2026). Last verified 2026-10-14. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.