Italy · Chianti Hills

Marchesi Mazzei

A Chianti Classico family with roots at Castello di Fonterutoli since 1435, farming Sangiovese on Alberese and sandstone across 114 parcels between 220 and 570 metres, with estates reaching to coastal Maremma and Noto in Sicily.

The producer

Castello di Fonterutoli stands on a slope above Castellina in Chianti, in the province of Siena, where the Mazzei family has farmed the same ground since 1435. The home estate covers 650 hectares in total, with 110 under vine, cut into 114 individual parcels spread across an altitude band that runs from 220 metres at the valley floor to 570 metres on the upper slopes. Soil is decomposed Alberese limestone and sandstone: well-drained, mineral-rich, and thin enough to push vine roots deep and concentrate flavour into the fruit rather than bulk canopy. The result, across the Chianti Classico range, is Sangiovese with firm acidity, a chalky mineral grip, and sour cherry fruit that carries through ageing.

The family now operates three estates. Belguardo, a 94-hectare coastal property with 48 hectares under vine, was bought in the 1990s and replanted from scratch with selected varieties and clones, producing Vermentino with citrus, Mediterranean herb, and saline character alongside Maremma red blends. Zisola at Noto in the southeast of Sicily adds 24 hectares of Nero d'Avola and Mediterranean sun. The flagship across the range is Siepi, an equal blend of Sangiovese and Merlot produced as IGT Toscana, where the Merlot rounds the Sangiovese's sharp edges into a fuller, plum-weighted mid-palate. Vicoregio 36, from a single parcel planted with 36 distinct Sangiovese biotypes, gives a tighter, more mineral wine that is technically monovarietal but internally a cross-section of clonal variation on a single slope.

Known for

Chianti Classico Sangiovese across 114 parcels from Alberese and sandstone, and Siepi, an equal Sangiovese-Merlot IGT Toscana.

Notable facts

The story

Thirty-Six Sangioveses in One Glass

Before the 2022 harvest at Fonterutoli, the cellar team faced a practical question about a single parcel they had been managing differently from every other plot on the estate. Years earlier, rather than planting one Sangiovese clone, they had introduced 36 distinct biotypes of the same grape into that one plot: 36 genetic variations of Sangiovese, side by side, in a parcel small enough to be vinified as a single lot. By harvest, those 36 populations were at slightly different stages of ripeness, with different tannin weights and different aromatic registers, all coming off the same slope under the same sun. The cellar unified them, aged the result in French oak, and bottled the wine as Vicoregio 36. On the label it reads as a monovarietal Sangiovese from a single vineyard. In the glass, it carries 36 slightly different versions of the same grape pressed into one.

From the atlas

Marchesi Mazzei

At A Glance

The Producer

Castello di Fonterutoli stands on a slope above Castellina in Chianti, in the province of Siena, where the Mazzei family has farmed the same ground since 1435. Few wine families in Italy carry an unbroken land record that long. The home estate is 650 hectares in total, with 110 of those under vine, cut into 114 individual parcels spread across the altitude band that Chianti Classico producers prize for the cool nights that keep Sangiovese's acidity alive.

The family now operates three estates. Castello di Fonterutoli anchors the range in Chianti Classico. Tenuta Belguardo, a 94-hectare coastal property with 48 hectares of vines, was bought in the 1990s and replanted from scratch with selected varieties and clones. Zisola, a 50-hectare property at Noto in the southeast of Sicily, contributes 24 hectares under vine and the sunwashed conditions that Nero d'Avola and Vermentino need. Francesco Mazzei has represented the family in wine media internationally.

Place

Castellina in Chianti sits close to the geographic centre of Chianti Classico, the appellation that runs between Florence and Siena in Tuscany's rolling interior. The Chianti Classico zone is defined by a combination of altitude, limestone-rich soils, and the diurnal temperature swings that let Sangiovese ripen fully while keeping its characteristic acidity sharp. Fonterutoli's 110 vineyard hectares span from 220 metres at the valley floor to 570 metres on the upper slopes: the higher parcels produce tighter, more aromatic fruit; the lower ones give weight and flesh.

Belguardo in Maremma Toscana, the coastal DOC that runs along the Tyrrhenian coast south of Livorno, operates under different conditions: warmer, more Mediterranean, with sea breezes that temper summer heat. Zisola at Noto, in Sicily's dry southeastern tip, pushes even further: long hot summers, volcanic influence in the soils, and the kind of sun that concentrates Nero d'Avola into deep, plum-weighted reds.

Soil And Site

At Fonterutoli, the soil is decomposed Alberese limestone and sandstone. Alberese is the pale, hard, calcium-rich rock that runs through much of Chianti Classico and breaks down into thin, well-drained soils that push vine roots deep in search of water. Sandstone adds porosity and keeps water retention low enough to stress the vine into concentrating flavour rather than growing bulk canopy. Together they produce wines with a recognisably mineral edge and acidity that lasts through ageing. The 114 parcels at Fonterutoli are arranged across seven distinct elevation zones, meaning the cellar can separate fruit by altitude and site character rather than blending everything into a single estate pool.

Story

The Mazzei family's presence at Fonterutoli is documented without interruption from 1435. No sale, no gap, no period of outside ownership. Across nearly six centuries, the estate has passed through political upheaval, agricultural transformation, and the repeated reshaping of Italian wine law that turned Chianti Classico from a bulk-production zone into one of the country's most debated appellations.

The 1990s marked a deliberate expansion outward. The family bought Tenuta Belguardo on the Maremma coast and chose not to simply farm what was already planted. They replanted the entire estate with selected varieties and clones, a commitment that took years before it produced commercial wine. Maremma was then an emerging zone, far from the prestige of Chianti Classico, and the investment was a clear statement that the family was building a range designed to span climates and styles rather than concentrate all their effort on the family's historic heartland. Zisola in Sicily followed, extending the portfolio to the Mediterranean south.

Vineyards And Cellar

The 114 parcels at Fonterutoli are not farmed as a single unit. Dividing the estate into named zones by elevation and aspect allows the cellar to receive fruit that already carries the character of its specific slope rather than averaging those differences away. Higher parcels, harvested later due to altitude, contribute aromatic lift and firmer acidity to the blend; lower parcels add body.

Vicoregio 36 grew from an extreme version of this parcel logic. A single plot was planted with 36 distinct Sangiovese biotypes, different clonal selections of the same grape variety, and the wine is vinified and bottled from that one parcel. Each biotype behaves differently through the season, ripening at a slightly different rate, contributing a different tannin weight or aromatic register. The wine is aged in French oak. What leaves the cellar is technically a monovarietal Sangiovese, but its internal complexity comes from the fact that 36 genetic variations of that grape are all present in the same glass.

At Belguardo, the family's post-purchase replanting with selected clones shaped a coastal estate that now produces Vermentino alongside Maremma red blends. Vermentino is a white grape native to coastal Sardinia and the Ligurian coast, well suited to Mediterranean heat, and at Belguardo it produces a dry, mineral white with citrus and herb character and a saline finish that the sea air reinforces.

Wines

The Chianti Classico range at Fonterutoli is built on Sangiovese, with Malvasia and Colorino as secondary varieties. Sangiovese brings firm tannin, high natural acidity, and cherry fruit that ranges from sour to dark depending on altitude and vintage. Malvasia adds aromatic softness; Colorino contributes colour and a touch of flesh. Chianti Classico, with its DOCG designation, is the appellation wine: red, dry, and anchored to the grape and the limestone slopes that Chianti Classico producers argue produce their most characteristic expression.

Siepi is the flagship IGT Toscana, a category that sits outside the Chianti Classico appellation rules and allows the winemaker greater freedom with grape varieties. The 2023 vintage is an equal blend of Sangiovese and Merlot. Merlot contributes half of the blend, and the wine shows plum and berry notes. The wine is aged with care for long-term development, and the estate notes significant ageing potential.

Vicoregio 36, as an IGT Toscana from its single multi-biotype parcel, gives a wine with intensity, deep colour, and a strong, bright bouquet. The 36-biotype approach means each vintage carries a different internal balance between clones. French oak ageing adds a background cedar and spice note without overwhelming the Sangiovese fruit.

Belguardo in Maremma produces the Vermentino: dry, mineral, with documented aromas of citrus and Mediterranean herbs, and a saline freshness on the finish that separates it from the richer whites of northern Tuscany.

Zisola at Noto produces Nero d'Avola, the primary red grape of eastern Sicily, known for its dark fruit, warm spice, and rounded tannins under the Sicilian sun.

In The Glass

Fonterutoli Chianti Classico opens with sour cherry and dried herbs, the signature aromatic register of Sangiovese on limestone at altitude. In the mouth, the acidity arrives first: sharp-edged, mouth-watering. Tannin is firm and present without being aggressive, giving the wine a drying grip on the finish. The mineral character that Alberese soils produce is felt more than tasted: a chalky undertow beneath the fruit that extends the aftertaste.

Siepi shifts the register. The Merlot at 50 percent brings a rounder entry, plum and dark cherry in place of the sour red fruit of straight Sangiovese, and the tannins are softer and more integrated. The mid-palate is fuller. Where the Chianti Classico cuts, Siepi broadens.

Vicoregio 36 sits closer to the Chianti Classico in energy: mineral-driven, firm-framed, with the slight complexity that comes from 36 biotypes each contributing a fractionally different aromatic note. The French oak is present but secondary.

The Belguardo Vermentino is a different conversation altogether: pale, dry, aromatic with lemon peel and rosemary, mineral on the palate and saline on the finish. It is a coastal white that tastes like where it grows.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with the Fonterutoli Chianti Classico. It is the home estate, the home appellation, and the home grape in a single bottle: Sangiovese on Alberese and sandstone, harvested from parcels between 220 and 570 metres, vinified under the Chianti Classico DOCG rules that require Sangiovese to dominate. The wine is dry and red, with the sour cherry fruit, firm acidity and chalky mineral grip that the soils and altitude produce. It is not the most complex bottle in the range, but it is the clearest argument for what the Mazzei family does on their home slope: farm Sangiovese on difficult limestone ground and bottle it without softening the edges.

Anecdote

Sometime before the 2022 harvest, the team at Fonterutoli had to make a practical decision about a single parcel they had been managing differently from the rest of the estate. Years earlier, rather than planting one Sangiovese clone, they had introduced 36 distinct biotypes of the same grape into that one plot. Thirty-six genetic variations, side by side, in a parcel small enough to be vinified as a single lot. By harvest, those 36 populations were at slightly different stages of ripeness, with different tannin weights and different aromatic registers, all of it coming off the same slope under the same sun. The cellar unified them, aged the result in French oak, and bottled the wine as Vicoregio 36. On paper it is a monovarietal Sangiovese from a single vineyard. In the glass, it is 36 slightly different Sangioveses pressed into one.

Final Word

Marchesi Mazzei is a three-estate family with one of the longest continuous land records in Italian wine and a range that now spans Chianti Classico, coastal Maremma, and the Sicilian south. The home estate at Fonterutoli, with its 114 parcels and its limestone soils, is the clearest argument for why Castellina in Chianti produces the kind of Sangiovese that ages. The 36 Sangiovese biotypes in Vicoregio 36 and the coastal reach of Belguardo and Zisola show a family building outward from that base with deliberate intent. Siepi combines Sangiovese and Merlot, while Vicoregio 36 uses 36 Sangiovese biotypes.

Sources

Open Marchesi Mazzei in the interactive map →