Marchesi de' Frescobaldi

Around the year 1000 the first members of the Frescobaldi family moved to Florence from the Val di Pesa, where their most ancient agricultural estate, Tenuta Castiglioni, still flourishes today. The family settled in the Oltrarno district, in the Piazza de' Frescobaldi, where it built a palazzo, covered loggia and tower, and in 1252 Lamberto Frescobaldi built the first bridge over the Arno, of wood, today's Ponte Santa Trinita. The family has produced wine in Tuscany since the early 1300s, and its archives hold commercial contracts with European Courts beginning in the 13th century. In the 15th and 16th centuries the Florentine wine house furnished wine to the Court of England and to the Papal Court in Rome, among others, and it had commercial ties with the workshops of Donatello, Michelozzo Michelozzi and Filippo Brunelleschi. In 1855 the family's forebears introduced varieties then unknown in Tuscany, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Nero and Chardonnay. The 20th century was marked by the work of Vittorio, Ferdinando and Leonardo Frescobaldi, and today the 30th generation runs the company.

• Around the year 1000: the family moved to Florence from the Val di Pesa
• 1252: Lamberto Frescobaldi built the first wooden bridge over the Arno, today's Ponte Santa Trinita
• 15th and 16th centuries: wine supplied to the Court of England and the Papal Court in Rome
• 1855: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Nero and Chardonnay introduced to Tuscany by the family's forebears

The 30th generation of the family now leads the company and aims to strengthen it through the uniqueness of the wines from each family estate. Lamberto Frescobaldi is president of Marchesi Frescobaldi; he studied viticulture and oenology at the University of California, Davis. In July 2023 Marchesi Frescobaldi bought Domaine Roy & fils in Oregon, the company's first winery in the United States; the deal closed on July 20.

• 30th generation of the family at the head of the company
• Lamberto Frescobaldi: president, trained in viticulture and oenology at UC Davis
• Domaine Roy & fils, Oregon: bought in July 2023, the company's first U.S. winery

Frescobaldi wants each estate, with its wines, to reflect the characteristics and authenticity of its territory. Castello Nipozzano, a defensive stronghold of Florence from the year 1000, sits in the heart of Chianti Rufina on a slope overlooking the Arno valley and is the family's most celebrated and historic property; by popular belief its name means "without a well", and Donatello and Michelozzo Michelozzi bought its wine in the Renaissance. The estate has 385 hectares of vineyard. Tenuta Perano lies in Gaiole in the heart of Chianti Classico, a natural amphitheatre with southwest exposure and vineyards at 500 metres. Tenuta CastelGiocondo, south-west of Montalcino at around 300 metres, is dominated by an ancient stronghold built in 1100 to defend the road from the sea to Siena; the family states it was one of the first four properties to produce Brunello di Montalcino, in 1800, and its label shows Guidoriccio da Fogliano from a fresco by Simone Martini. Tenuta Castiglioni in the Val di Pesa has been family property since the 11th century, with wine documented there as early as 1300. Castello Pomino dates from 1500, when its castle was built, with vines climbing to 700 metres among sequoias, firs and chestnut trees. Tenuta Ammiraglia is in the heart of the Maremma, with cellars designed by Piero Sartogo and Nathalie Grenon. Tenuta Calimaia marks the family's return to Montepulciano, where Lionardo di Niccolò Frescobaldi became mayor in 1390; it extends over some 70 hectares in Cervognano, with vineyards about 300 metres above sea level around the hill of Monteliscione. Rèmole takes its name from a historic house at Sieci, east of Florence. On Gorgona, the smallest island in the Tuscan archipelago and an open penal colony since 1869, Frescobaldi agronomists and oenologists have worked with inmates since 2011; the project began in August 2012, and the vineyard now measures two hectares.

• Castello Nipozzano (Chianti Rufina): 385 hectares of vineyard
• Tenuta Perano (Chianti Classico, Gaiole): vineyards at 500 metres
• Tenuta CastelGiocondo (Montalcino): around 300 metres; Tenuta Calimaia (Montepulciano): some 70 hectares
• Gorgona: two-hectare island vineyard farmed with the inmates of the open penal colony

The aim is for the wines to reflect each individual terroir. At Nipozzano, Montesodi was the estate's first Cru, created in 1974 from Sangiovese on a plot named for its stony soil, and is a Chianti Rufina Riserva DOCG. Mormoreto, a Toscana IGT, comes from the Mormoreto vineyard planted in 1976 and was born as a Cru in 1983; it traces to the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot an ancestor began cultivating at Nipozzano in 1855, and since 2013 it has included a small amount of Sangiovese. Nipozzano Riserva is a Chianti Rufina Riserva DOCG from Sangiovese and complementary varieties, and Nipozzano Vecchie Viti comes from the castle's oldest vines. At CastelGiocondo, the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG comes from soils of galestro, clay and Pliocene sand, while Ripe al Convento, a Brunello di Montalcino Riserva DOCG, comes from a small Sangiovese vineyard at 450 metres. At Pomino, Cru Benefizio, a Pomino Bianco Riserva DOC, was born in 1973 at 700 metres among Chardonnay vineyards planted as early as 1855. On Gorgona, the white Gorgona, a Costa Toscana IGT, comes from Vermentino and Ansonica, and Gorgona Rosso, from Sangiovese and Vermentino Nero vinified on the island and aged in terracotta jars, began with the 2015 harvest.

• Chianti Rufina Riserva DOCG: Montesodi (first Cru, 1974) and Nipozzano Riserva
• Toscana IGT: Mormoreto (born 1983; small share of Sangiovese since 2013)
• Brunello di Montalcino DOCG: CastelGiocondo; Riserva DOCG: Ripe al Convento
• Pomino Bianco Riserva DOC: Benefizio (born 1973, Chardonnay at 700 metres)

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/, https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/history, https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/estates, https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/estates/castello-nipozzano, https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/estates/tenuta-perano, https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/estates/tenuta-castelgiocondo, https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/estates/tenuta-castiglioni, https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/estates/castello-pomino, https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/estates/tenuta-ammiraglia, https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/estates/gorgona, https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/estates/remole, https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/estates/tenuta-calimaia, https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/wines, https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/wines/montesodi, https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/wines/mormoreto, https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/wines/nipozzano-riserva, https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/wines/castelgiocondo, https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/wines/gorgona, https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/wines/benefizio-riserva, https://www.frescobaldi.com/en/wines/ripe-al-convento. Secondary sources: Consorzio Chianti Rufina producer page for Castello Nipozzano (https://www.chiantirufina.com/en/produttori-chianti-rufina/castello-nipozzano/), Wine Spectator (https://www.winespectator.com/articles/marchesi-de-frescobaldi-acquires-oregons-domaine-roy-fils), Decanter, July 25, 2023 (https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/marchesi-frescobaldi-purchases-oregon-producer-domaine-roy-fils-508417/). Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs. Last verified 2026-10-12