Italy · Montalcino

Antonio Mastrojanni Societa Agricola Societa Semplice

A Brunello di Montalcino estate in Castelnuovo dell'Abate, farming 14.4 hectares of Sangiovese on lacustrine clay and sand soils since 1975, now owned by Francesco Illy of the coffee family and moving toward biodynamic viticulture.

The producer

Mastrojanni occupies the far southeastern corner of the Montalcino hill, where a Roman lawyer named Gabriele Mastrojanni planted Sangiovese on lacustrine clay and sand in 1975 before the appellation had much of a reputation to trade on. The first Brunello went into bottle in 1978. Winemaker Andrea Machetti joined in 1992 and has shaped the wines through three decades and two ownership changes. In 2008 Illycaffé's holding group acquired the estate for $23.2 million; in November 2022 Francesco Illy bought it out of the broader group personally, through his own Montalcino property Podere Le Ripi, and set it on a course toward organic and biodynamic farming.

The core wines are two versions of Brunello di Montalcino, both from 100 percent Sangiovese. The standard bottling draws from 14.4 hectares of qualifying vines across the southeastern slopes and produces around 3,330 cases per year. The single-vineyard Vigna Schiena d'Asino comes from the original 1975 plantings on a donkey's-back ridge and is capped at 500 to 650 cases. Castelnuovo dell'Abate Brunello tends toward warm-south character: dark plum, tobacco, dried hay, and truffle, with firm tannins and the body to develop for a decade or more in good conditions. Mastrojanni also operates La Nascosta, a separate estate in Val d'Orcia established in 2011, producing barrel-fermented Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc at higher elevation.

Known for

Brunello di Montalcino DOCG; single-vineyard Vigna Schiena d'Asino from 1975 plantings.

Notable facts

The story

The Coffee Family's Wine

In the autumn of 2008, Illycaffé, the Trieste coffee company known for its red-and-white tins and pressurized aluminum pods, paid $23.2 million for Mastrojanni, a family-run Brunello estate in Castelnuovo dell'Abate. The price was precise enough to appear in the financial press. Winemaker Andrea Machetti, who had joined in 1992, stayed on. The Illy Group folded Mastrojanni into Polo del Gusto, its food and beverage holding arm, alongside restaurants, chocolate, and cured meats: a wine estate inside a food conglomerate inside a coffee dynasty. Fourteen years later, in November 2022, Francesco Illy separated himself from that group and bought Mastrojanni personally, through Podere Le Ripi, his own wine estate in Montalcino. The estate passed from family to corporation to one man with his own wine property down the road.

From the atlas

Antonio Mastrojanni Societa Agricola Societa Semplice

At A Glance

The Producer

Mastrojanni is a Brunello di Montalcino estate in Castelnuovo dell'Abate, the village that occupies the far southeastern corner of the Montalcino hill in Tuscany. A Roman lawyer named Gabriele Mastrojanni founded it in 1975, planting Sangiovese on lacustrine clay and sand soils before the appellation had much of a reputation to trade on. The first Brunello went into bottle in 1978.

The estate now belongs to Francesco Illy, a member of the Trieste coffee family, who took personal ownership in November 2022 and has since moved the vines toward organic and biodynamic cultivation. Winemaker Andrea Machetti has held his position since 1992, through two ownership changes, and remains the continuous thread across all three eras of the estate.

Mastrojanni also operates La Nascosta, a separate property in the Val d'Orcia established in 2011, where Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are grown alongside Sangiovese at higher elevation. The two estates have different ambitions: Mastrojanni is the Brunello address; La Nascosta is a separate experiment in white wine varieties unusual for this part of Tuscany.

Place

Castelnuovo dell'Abate sits at the southeastern base of the Montalcino ridge, below the medieval hilltop town, facing toward Monte Amiata. Within the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, the southeastern sector is known for warmer growing conditions than the northern and western parts of the appellation. More sun and less Atlantic wind push Sangiovese toward fuller ripeness and more pronounced tertiary development: the plum, tobacco, truffle, and dried herb notes that appear in wines from this corner come partly from that warmth working on the grape over a long growing season.

The elevation at Mastrojanni ranges from roughly 250 to 400 metres on south and southeast-facing slopes. Higher up the hill the morning fog and cooler overnight temperatures slow ripening slightly and help the grape hold its acidity; lower down, the clay soils hold heat and moisture, pushing body and depth. Brunello from Castelnuovo dell'Abate tends to be broader and richer in its youth than wines from the cooler north of the appellation, though both require years of cellaring before they open fully.

Soil And Site

The soils at Mastrojanni are of lacustrine origin, meaning they were deposited by an ancient lake bed. The composition alternates between clays, sands, sandstones, marls, and polygenic conglomerates. Clay holds water and delivers body; sand drains freely and forces the vine to search deeper for moisture; sandstone contributes mineral definition; the conglomerate layers add drainage variation and push root development into different strata. The combination produces Sangiovese with both weight and length, capable of the extended ageing Brunello di Montalcino requires.

Vigna Schiena d'Asino takes its name from the shape of the ridge on which it sits: schiena d'asino means donkey's back in Italian. The plot was planted in 1975, the founding year of the estate, and its vines have never been replanted. Old Sangiovese on this lacustrine soil produces fruit in small quantities with concentrated character.

Story

Gabriele Mastrojanni was a lawyer, not a winegrower, when he acquired the Poderi Loreto and San Pio in Castelnuovo dell'Abate in 1975. He saw farming potential in that southeastern pocket of Montalcino before most buyers were looking there. The first vintage went into bottle in 1978. Andrea Machetti joined in 1992 and took over the winemaking.

In 2008, Gruppo Illy, the holding company behind the Trieste coffee brand Illycaffé, paid $23.2 million for the estate. It was an unusual acquisition: a coffee dynasty buying a Tuscan wine property. Machetti stayed. The Illy Group ran Mastrojanni for fourteen years through its Polo del Gusto food and beverage subsidiary, alongside restaurants, chocolate, and cured meats.

In November 2022 Francesco Illy, one of the family, broke from the group. Through his own wine estate Podere Le Ripi, also in Montalcino, he bought Mastrojanni out of the group and took it into personal ownership. Within months the estate had announced a shift toward organic and biodynamic cultivation. The founding plots, the winemaker, and the wine style remained intact. The farming commitment changed.

Vineyards And Cellar

Mastrojanni's 41 hectares under vine include 14.4 hectares of Brunello-qualified Sangiovese on south and southeast-facing slopes between 250 and 400 metres. The remaining vineyard is split between other parcels and the La Nascosta property. Since November 2022 the viticulture has moved toward organic and biodynamic methods: a shift away from synthetic inputs toward farming that responds to soil biology rather than correcting for it.

Vigna Schiena d'Asino is handled separately. The plot's age gives it naturally low yields and concentrated Sangiovese. Its production is capped at 500 to 650 cases per year, a fraction of the 3,330 cases produced across the standard Brunello. Machetti has managed both parcels since 1992, which means the cellar decisions that shaped the character of each wine were made by the same person across three decades of ownership.

Wines

The range is built around two versions of Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, both from 100 percent Sangiovese. Brunello di Montalcino under the DOCG rules requires a minimum of five years ageing before release, including at least two years in oak and four months in bottle. Mastrojanni's standard Brunello draws from 14.4 hectares of Sangiovese across the estate's qualifying slopes. It is a wine with substantial body from the clay soils and the warmth of the southeastern subzone, showing dark plum, strawberry jam, dried hay, tobacco, and truffle character as it develops over time. Tannins are firm and need time to soften.

Vigna Schiena d'Asino is the single-vineyard Brunello, drawn from the original 1975 plantings on the donkey's-back ridge. It is produced in volumes that make it genuinely rare: between 500 and 650 cases most years, compared to ten times that for the standard Brunello. The concentration from those old vines and the specificity of the site give it a tighter, more layered character than the estate wine, though both require patience.

La Nascosta, the separate Val d'Orcia property, produces Chardonnay under the Chard'O label, barrel-fermented to develop praline and roasted chestnut richness from oak contact, balanced by firm, bright acidity. La Nascosta also works with Sauvignon Blanc and Sangiovese, at elevations above the main Montalcino estate.

In The Glass

The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino opens with depth rather than freshness. The nose moves through dark plum, a soft strawberry jam quality, then into the more tertiary register that Castelnuovo dell'Abate Sangiovese develops with age: dried hay, tobacco leaf, a touch of truffle, and faint mushroom underneath. The palate carries significant body from the clay soils, with firm tannins that are present but not abrasive at this stage, and a long, savoury finish. It is a wine capable of developing for another decade or more in good conditions. The dominant character is warm-south Brunello rather than the more austere northern style: earthier, richer, with tertiary notes arriving earlier in the wine's life.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with the Brunello di Montalcino rather than Vigna Schiena d'Asino. The single-vineyard bottling is produced in volumes too small for most buyers to locate reliably, and it requires even more time in the cellar before it gives much back. The standard Brunello covers 14.4 hectares of Sangiovese on lacustrine clay and sand, aged through the full DOCG regime before release. A recent vintage in good condition delivers Castelnuovo dell'Abate Sangiovese in its clearest form: plum and dried hay on the nose, firm body on the palate, a long tobacco-edged finish, and the acidity underneath to carry it forward for years. Open it with a few hours of air, or hold it a further five years if the vintage allows.

Anecdote

In the autumn of 2008, Illycaffé, the Trieste coffee company known for its red-and-white tins and pressurized aluminum pods, paid $23.2 million for Mastrojanni, a family Brunello estate in Castelnuovo dell'Abate. The price was precise enough to appear in the financial press. Winemaker Andrea Machetti, who had joined in 1992, stayed on. The Illy Group folded Mastrojanni into Polo del Gusto, its food and beverage holding arm, alongside restaurants, chocolate, and cured meats: a wine estate inside a food conglomerate inside a coffee dynasty. Fourteen years later, in November 2022, Francesco Illy separated himself from that group and bought Mastrojanni personally, through Podere Le Ripi, his own wine estate in Montalcino. The estate passed from family to corporation to corporation to one man with his own wine property down the road.

Final Word

Mastrojanni is a southeastern Montalcino estate with a clear character: warm-climate Sangiovese on lacustrine clay and sand, built for the long term, in a style that leans into depth and earth rather than lift. The current ownership has set a biodynamic course, with the same winemaker who has shaped the wines for more than thirty years still in the cellar. The standard Brunello di Montalcino is the place to start, not because Schiena d'Asino is secondary, but because it is rarely on a shelf.

Sources

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