From the atlas
Castellani S.p.A.
At A Glance
Producer: Castellani S.p.A. Country: Italy Region: Tuscany Type: Family wine company Key grapes: Sangiovese Core wines: Famiglia Castellani Chianti DOCG, Chianti Classico DOCG Riserva, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Manager: Piergiorgio Castellani Oenologist: Sabino Russo Founded: 1903
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The Producer
Castellani S.p.A. has been a Tuscan family wine company since 1903, headquartered in Pontedera and still run by the Castellani family. Five principal estates spread across Tuscany supply the raw material for a range that runs from a clean, stainless-steel Chianti DOCG to a Brunello di Montalcino aged in oak for two years before bottling. A company of this age and reach is a commercial operation, not a small domaine.
Piergiorgio Castellani manages the company today. Sabino Russo works as oenologist. The international distribution touches 42 countries, a figure that reflects the scale of the operation.
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Place
Tuscany is a large region, and Castellani works across several of its most important appellations. The Chianti DOCG, the broadest Sangiovese-based classification in Tuscany, covers a wide band of central territory. The Chianti Classico DOCG, a legally distinct and more tightly bounded zone between Florence and Siena, sits at higher elevation and produces wines with firmer acidity and more concentrated earth character. Brunello di Montalcino DOCG is further south, around the hill town of Montalcino, where Sangiovese Grosso, the local clone of Sangiovese, produces the most tannic and age-worthy red wine in the family range.
Ceppaiano, one of the five estates, has vineyards with mainly sandy soils. Poggio al Casone is farmed organically. Each estate contributes to a range that maps broadly across Tuscan Sangiovese, from accessible to structured.
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Soil And Site
The sourced material documents sandy soils at the Ceppaiano estate, where the textural looseness of the ground contributes to a softer wine character suited to the Governo all'Uso Toscano method practiced there. Poggio al Casone is farmed organically, excluding products or procedures considered harmful to nature. Specific soil composition across the other three estates is not documented in the available sources.
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Story
Castellani has been running since 1903. Over 120-plus years, the company has passed through several family generations, each selecting the wines that go out under the Castellani name. That role, choosing which bottles carry the family label, has remained with the family rather than being delegated to buyers or consultants.
Two estates mark the company's clearest departures from mainstream Tuscan production. At Poggio al Casone, the family moved farming and vinification to fully organic methods: no products or procedures harmful to nature, the same standard applied in the cellar as in the vineyard. At Ceppaiano, Castellani kept alive the Governo all'Uso Toscano technique, a second-fermentation method that had largely disappeared from Tuscan cellars by the time modern temperature-controlled equipment gave winemakers easier routes to softness and body. Keeping it required a deliberate choice.
The range architecture reflects the family's position across the Tuscan hierarchy. Entry at Chianti DOCG, a step up through Chianti Classico Riserva, and Brunello di Montalcino at the top. Oenologist Sabino Russo oversees production across this spread.
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Vineyards And Cellar
At Poggio al Casone, organic farming means the vineyard receives no synthetic treatments. Vinification follows organic methods through the cellar as well: the commitment runs from vine to bottle, not to a farming certificate.
At Ceppaiano, estate-grown grapes from mainly sandy soils go through the Governo all'Uso Toscano process. After the primary alcoholic fermentation is complete, a portion of must is added to the wine to trigger a second fermentation. The added must reactivates activity in the finished wine, builds additional body, and gives the resulting red a softer, rounder texture than a single-fermentation Sangiovese of the same fruit weight.
The Famiglia Castellani Chianti DOCG is made entirely in stainless steel: alcoholic fermentation at controlled temperature, then malolactic fermentation. No oak contact. The method keeps the wine fresh and fruit-forward.
The Chianti Classico DOCG Riserva goes through malolactic fermentation and then matures for at least 24 months. That extended period is what the Riserva designation requires and what separates its weight and depth from the basic Chianti. The Brunello di Montalcino spends at least 24 months in oak followed by at least four months of bottle ageing before release.
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Wines
The Famiglia Castellani Chianti DOCG is Sangiovese-led, vinified in stainless steel, with violet and cherry on the nose and a dry, savory palate that softens through the mid-palate. Tannins are present but light, and the finish is clean. It is the most approachable wine in the range and the one most suited to a simple meal.
The Famiglia Castellani Chianti Classico DOCG Riserva moves into different territory. The Chianti Classico zone adds altitude and different soil compared to the broader Chianti DOCG, and the 24-month minimum maturation brings earthier aromas, leather, firmer acidity, and a longer finish than the basic Chianti. It carries more weight on the palate and holds that weight through a longer finish.
The Famiglia Castellani Brunello di Montalcino DOCG is made from Sangiovese. Two years in oak and four months in bottle before release give the wine its layered, structured character. Of the three core wines, this is the one that rewards patience.
The Ceppaiano estate wine made by Governo all'Uso Toscano is a separate expression: rounder in texture than a straightforward Sangiovese red, shaped by the second fermentation rather than by oak or extended maturation.
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In The Glass
The Chianti DOCG lifts off the glass with violet and cherry, the aromatic signature of Sangiovese kept close to fruit by stainless steel. In the mouth it is dry and faintly savory, with tannins that are noticeable but soft, releasing through the mid-palate and leaving a clean, short finish. The acid line is moderate. Nothing in the glass comes from wood.
The Chianti Classico Riserva opens more slowly. Where the Chianti is immediate, the Riserva holds back: dark cherry, earth, dried herbs, and a leather note that comes from extended maturation. Acidity is firmer and the tannins sit more squarely across the palate. The finish is longer and drier.
The Brunello di Montalcino is the most demanding wine in the range. Sangiovese Grosso is a tannic, high-acid grape, and Montalcino amplifies both. Oak ageing adds dried fruit, tobacco, and a smoky depth. The palate is full, the tannins grip through the finish, and the wine needs time to open.
The Governo-method wine from Ceppaiano is softer than any of the three above: the second fermentation with added must produces a rounder, more glycerol-shaped texture and a slightly warmer, fuller feel in the mouth.
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A Bottle To Understand It
Start with the Famiglia Castellani Chianti DOCG. It is Sangiovese in its most direct Tuscan form: no oak, no extended maturation, just controlled fermentation in stainless steel and the grape's own violet-and-cherry character on a dry, savory palate. The tannins soften through the mid-palate and the finish is clean. It is made entirely in stainless steel, with violet and cherry aromas and a dry, savory palate. One bottle of this and the Riserva makes a useful pair: you will hear exactly what 24 months of maturation adds.
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Anecdote
At the Ceppaiano estate, one of Castellani's five Tuscan properties, the cellar still makes a wine the way Tuscan producers made it before temperature-controlled fermentation tanks became standard equipment. After the primary fermentation of the harvest is done and the wine has settled, a measured portion of grape must is added back to the vat. The must reactivates fermentation in the finished wine, building additional carbon dioxide and body in a way that the winemaker cannot achieve by simply picking later or fermenting longer. The technique, called Governo all'Uso Toscano, was practical knowledge when Castellani was founded in 1903: a way to give a Tuscan red softness and consistency without the cellar technology that would arrive decades later. Modern equipment made it unnecessary. At Ceppaiano it is still done, on estate-grown grapes from mainly sandy vineyard soils, because the wine that comes out of it tastes different from a wine made without it.
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Final Word
Castellani is a 120-year-old Tuscan family wine company that has stayed in family hands across several generations and expanded to five estates and 42-country distribution without losing the practices that make two of those estates specific. Poggio al Casone farms and vinifies organically. Ceppaiano makes a Governo-method wine by a technique most Tuscan producers put aside half a century ago. The core family label runs from an honest Chianti DOCG to a properly aged Brunello. That is a range worth knowing.
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Sources
- https://www.castelwine.com/en/120-harvests/
- https://wineguide.wein.plus/castellani-s-p-a
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castellani_(wine)
- https://www.castelwine.com/en/poggio-al-casone/
- https://www.castelwine.com/en/ceppaiano-estate/
- https://www.castelwine.com/en/chianti-fam-castellani/
- https://www.castelwine.com/en/chianti-classico-riserva-fam-castellani/
- https://www.castelwine.com/en/brun_fam-caste/