Fattoria Selvapiana

Selvapiana began as one of the watchtowers built along the Sieve river to protect Florence's north-eastern border. During the Renaissance the building was enlarged into a villa used as a summer residence by noble Florentine families and by the bishops of Florence. In 1827 the property was acquired by Michele Giuntini, a successful banker; his descendant Francesco Giuntini ran the estate from 1957. Francesco believed in the potential of the Rufina appellation, and in 1978 he hired the young Franco Bernabei as consulting enologist. The following year, 1979, Selvapiana released Bucerchiale, a Riserva made entirely from Sangiovese and, unusually for the time, from a single vineyard; the estate was among the first in Tuscany to do both. Bernabei has continued to consult for Selvapiana ever since.

• Origins as a watchtower on the Sieve river, later enlarged into a Renaissance-era villa for noble Florentine families and the bishops of Florence
• Purchased by banker Michele Giuntini in 1827; his descendant Francesco Giuntini ran the property from 1957
• Franco Bernabei joined as consulting enologist in 1978 and has continued in that role since
• Bucerchiale, a single-vineyard, 100% Sangiovese Chianti Rufina Riserva, debuted in 1979, among the first wines of its kind in Tuscany

Since 1997 Selvapiana has been run by Federico and Silvia Giuntini Masseti, adopted children of Francesco Giuntini and children of Franco Masseti, the estate's manager from 1953 to 1990; press coverage of the estate describes Federico and Silvia as representing the family's fifth generation at Selvapiana. Federico began working at the estate in the summer of 1987, after high school, and asked Francesco to farm organically; he has described Selvapiana as "still a very small family operation," with Silvia in charge of the office and Federico focused on the vineyards and direct sales. Federico's eldest of four sons, Niccolo, took charge of the cellar in 2019, working closely with Franco Bernabei, and Niccolo was solely responsible for the 2019 vintage of Bucerchiale, the wine's 40th-anniversary release. Federico's daughter Rebecca has also begun helping at the estate's wine shop. Federico Giuntini Masseti additionally served as president of the Chianti Rufina Consorzio, helping create the Terraelectae single-vineyard category, until June 2025, when he was succeeded by Gerardo Gondi of Marchesi Gondi for the 2025-2027 term. Federico's full legal name, as recorded on the estate's own ICEA organic certification, is Federico Giuntini Antinori Masseti; a Jancis Robinson piece reproduced on the estate's own site attributes the Antinori surname to a marriage tie from the prior generation, noting that Francesco Giuntini 'was married to an Antinori,' a genealogical fact distinct from any corporate or ownership affiliation with the Antinori wine company.

• Federico and Silvia Giuntini Masseti, Francesco Giuntini's adopted children, have run Selvapiana since 1997; press coverage describes them as the family's fifth generation
• Niccolo Giuntini, Federico's eldest of four sons, took charge of the cellar in 2019 and made the 2019 Bucerchiale, the wine's 40th-anniversary vintage, entirely on his own
• Federico's daughter Rebecca has begun helping at the estate's wine shop
• Federico Giuntini Masseti served as president of the Chianti Rufina Consorzio, helping create the Terraelectae category, until June 2025, when Gerardo Gondi (Marchesi Gondi) succeeded him
• Federico's full legal name (Federico Giuntini Antinori Masseti, per the estate's own ICEA certificate) reflects a marriage tie between the Giuntini and Antinori families a generation earlier, not a corporate affiliation

Selvapiana's property covers about 250 hectares near Pontassieve, of which roughly 58 hectares are planted with vines, 36 hectares are olive groves and the remainder is forest, spread across the municipalities of Rufina, Pontassieve and Pelago. The flagship Bucerchiale vineyard covers 12.5 hectares on a south to south-west facing slope, planted in 1968 with a further parcel added in 1992 and, per winemaker Federico Giuntini, a younger parcel in 2001; the estate's own technical sheets place it at about 200 meters elevation. Vigneto Erchi, in the municipality of Pontassieve, was purchased in 1998 and 6 hectares were planted with Sangiovese in 1999; it became the source of a second single-vineyard Riserva starting with the 2016 vintage and was chosen by Federico Giuntini to represent the Chianti Rufina Terraelectae category. About a hectare of Erchi burned in a 2021 fire; as of a September 2024 report from Genuine Wines, a trade contact linked from Selvapiana's own site, Selvapiana planned to replant the burned hectare and add two more in 2025, bringing Erchi to 8 hectares. Selvapiana is also one of only two producers of Pomino DOC, alongside Frescobaldi, within a historic zone of about 100 hectares; the estate rents and farms 6 hectares there, at Villa di Petrognano, owned by Cecilia Galeotti Ottieri, under an arrangement the estate's own site attributes to the friendship between Francesco Giuntini and Petrognano's owner.

• Estate: about 250 hectares near Pontassieve, roughly 58 hectares under vine, 36 hectares of olive groves and the rest forest, across Rufina, Pontassieve and Pelago
• Bucerchiale: 12.5 hectares, south to south-west facing, about 200 meters elevation, planted 1968 with later parcels added in 1992 and 2001
• Vigneto Erchi: 6 hectares planted with Sangiovese in 1999 (farm purchased 1998); about a hectare burned in 2021, with a planned 2025 replant and expansion to 8 hectares
• One of only two Pomino DOC producers (with Frescobaldi); Selvapiana rents and farms 6 hectares at Villa di Petrognano, owned by Cecilia Galeotti Ottieri

Federico Giuntini introduced organic farming at Selvapiana in 1987, and the estate's vines and olive trees now carry ICEA organic certification (an operator conformity certificate on file with the estate is dated October 2017 and lists both vine and olive production as certified organic). Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks using natural, unselected yeasts, a practice the estate says has been in place since 1992; maceration generally runs about 25 to 30 days, per the estate's technical data sheets, with some general estate materials citing at least 30 days. Aging traditionally combined oak barrels in the historic cellar under the Villa with barriques in the newer cellar, completed in 2005; more recent vintages of the Chianti Rufina Riserva Bucerchiale have used a mix of large casks and French oak barriques, a change the estate dates to the 2018 vintage, while earlier vintages, including 2011 and 2015, were aged solely in French oak barriques. The base Chianti Rufina is blended from 95% Sangiovese with Canaiolo, Colorino and Malvasia Nera making up the remaining 5%, per the estate's own technical sheets; Bucerchiale and the Erchi Riserva are both 100% Sangiovese.

• Organic farming since 1987 under Federico Giuntini; vines and olive trees ICEA-certified organic (certificate on file dated October 2017)
• Natural-yeast fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel since 1992; maceration of about 25-30 days per technical sheets
• Base Chianti Rufina: 95% Sangiovese with Canaiolo, Colorino and Malvasia Nera (5%); Bucerchiale and Erchi Riserva are 100% Sangiovese
• Bucerchiale aging shifted from all French barriques (through the 2015 vintage) to a mix of large casks and barriques starting with the 2018 vintage

Selvapiana's current range, per its own product pages, comprises Vigneto Bucerchiale, Vigneto Erchi, the Selvapiana Chianti Rufina, Pomino Rosso (labeled Villa di Petrognano), Pomino Bianco, Fornace, a Syrah, Vin Santo del Chianti Rufina, and an extra-virgin olive oil. Pomino Rosso blends Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, per the estate's own technical sheet, which does not itself give percentages; press coverage puts the blend at about 60% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, with the Sangiovese aged in medium-sized oak casks and the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in barriques. Pomino Bianco is made mostly from Chardonnay. Fornace, labeled Toscana IGT, is a Bordeaux-variety wine built around Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, aged in French barriques; the estate calls it "the modern side of Selvapiana." Vin Santo del Chianti Rufina is made from Trebbiano Toscano grapes dried for about five months, then aged for six or more years in sealed chestnut and oak caratelli of varying sizes. The estate also produces a 100% Syrah from the Sopra Giardino vineyard in Rufina.

• Range: Vigneto Bucerchiale, Vigneto Erchi, Selvapiana Chianti Rufina, Pomino Rosso (Villa di Petrognano), Pomino Bianco, Fornace, Syrah, Vin Santo del Chianti Rufina, and an extra-virgin olive oil
• Pomino Rosso: Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon per the estate's own technical sheet; press coverage puts the blend at about 60/20/20
• Fornace (Toscana IGT): Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, aged in French barriques; described by the estate as "the modern side of Selvapiana"
• Vin Santo del Chianti Rufina: 100% Trebbiano Toscano, dried about five months, then aged 6+ years in sealed caratelli

Selvapiana is widely credited with helping put Chianti Rufina on the map as a distinct, cool-climate expression of Sangiovese. When Francesco Giuntini and Franco Bernabei released the 100% Sangiovese, single-vineyard Bucerchiale in 1979, it ran against the era's Chianti norms, which still required a share of white grapes in the blend; industry retrospectives marking the wine's 40th anniversary in 2019 credited it with helping open a market for serious, age-worthy Chianti Rufina. The estate's organic farming, begun in 1987, predates its formal ICEA certification by decades. Selvapiana also occupies a rare position as one of only two producers of Pomino DOC, and Federico Giuntini Masseti helped shape the subzone's modern quality framework as an architect of the Chianti Rufina Terraelectae category and, until June 2025, as president of the Chianti Rufina Consorzio. With Niccolo Giuntini, Federico's eldest son, now leading the cellar, the family's stewardship of Selvapiana continues into a new generation.

• Bucerchiale (1979) was among Tuscany's first single-vineyard, 100% Sangiovese Chianti Riservas, at a time when Chianti rules still required white grapes in the blend
• Organic farming practiced since 1987, well ahead of the estate's ICEA certification
• One of only two Pomino DOC producers in existence, alongside Frescobaldi
• Federico Giuntini Masseti helped create the Chianti Rufina Terraelectae category and served as Chianti Rufina Consorzio president until June 2025

Primary sources (producer's own site, fetched as raw page text via curl and tag-stripping, and technical data sheets fetched as PDFs and read via OCR, not a summarizing tool): https://www.selvapiana.it/, .../fattoria-selvapiana-history-tradition-passion/, .../the-chianti-rufina/, .../products-en/, .../contacts/, .../booking-visits-and-tastings/, .../portfolio/vigneto-bucerchiale-en/, .../portfolio/vigneto-erchi-en/, .../portfolio/selvapiana-chianti-rufina-en/, .../portfolio/vigneto-pomino-en/, .../portfolio/pomino-bianco-en/, .../portfolio/fornace-en/, .../portfolio/syrah-en/, .../portfolio/vin-santo-del-chianti-rufina-en/, .../portfolio/olio-extra-vergine-oliva-en/, .../newsmedia/ (which reproduces press coverage from Jancis Robinson, Decanter, Falstaff, Matthew Jukes and Tuscan Vines, attributed in text to those outlets), plus technical data sheets for Bucerchiale 2011 and 2015, Selvapiana Chianti Rufina 2013 and 2017, Pomino Rosso 2015, Fornace 2015, and Vin Santo 2010, and the estate's ICEA organic conformity certificate. Secondary sources: Consorzio del Chianti Rufina (chiantirufina.com, appellation body, including its June 2025 announcement of a new Consorzio president) and Genuine Wines (genuinewines.com), a trade contact linked from Selvapiana's own site (footer link "Fanny Breuil"), September 2024 harvest report. Last verified 2026-09-09. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs; see conflicts.json for the Bucerchiale skipped-vintage list, vineyard elevation and hectare figures, and generation-count discrepancies found across the estate's own pages and its reproduced press coverage.