Italy · Chianti Hills

Villa Mangiacane

Organic Chianti Classico estate 12 km south of Florence, restored from a Renaissance villa that served as a German command post and Allied hospital during the Second World War.

The producer

Villa Mangiacane sits in Sant'Andrea in Percussina at the northern edge of the Chianti Classico zone, 12 km south of Florence, on 242 hectares that include 43 of vineyards and more than 600 olive trees. The villa itself dates to the 14th or 15th century, built for the Machiavelli family on hillside land that Niccolò Machiavelli farmed during his years of Florentine exile. Glynn Cohen, a Zimbabwe-born businessman and philanthropist, acquired the deteriorated property in 2001 and rebuilt it into a working organic estate, recovering original interior frescoes and establishing the winery from the ground up.

The range runs three tiers inside the Chianti Classico DOCG hierarchy. The standard blend combines 85 percent Sangiovese with Canaiolo and Colorino, two indigenous Tuscan varieties that soften tannin and add colour depth. The Riserva strips back to 100 percent Sangiovese for a darker, more angular expression. The Gran Selezione Z District, 95 percent Sangiovese with 5 percent Merlot, spends 24 months in French oak, half of it new, before nine months of bottle rest, and delivers bitter cherry, firm tannin, and balanced cedar on the finish.

Known for

Chianti Classico DOCG, Chianti Classico Riserva, Chianti Classico Gran Selezione

Notable facts

The story

Command Post to Chianti Classico

In the autumn of 1944, Allied medical staff were setting up cots inside Villa Mangiacane where German command maps had been spread across the same tables weeks before. The villa had served as a military headquarters through the occupation of central Tuscany, and when the front moved north the building changed function overnight, becoming a field hospital for months before the war ended and it was handed back. What followed was not a revival but a long slow emptying: the property passed through hands, plaster dust gathered over frescoes on the interior walls, and the vineyards contracted. By 2001, when Glynn Cohen bought the estate, the deterioration had been running for decades. His restoration team found the original frescoes still intact beneath the neglect, and the winery he built began producing wine from the same Chianti Classico hills that Niccolò Machiavelli had farmed five centuries before.

From the atlas

Villa Mangiacane

At A Glance

Appellation: Chianti Classico DOCG Village: Sant'Andrea in Percussina Region: Tuscany, Italy Grapes: Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Colorino, Merlot Farming: Organic Range: Chianti Classico DOCG, Chianti Classico Riserva, Chianti Classico Gran Selezione, Supertuscan Merlot

The Producer

When Glynn Cohen, a Zimbabwe-born businessman and philanthropist, bought Villa Mangiacane in 2001, he was acquiring a ruin. The estate in Sant'Andrea in Percussina, 12 km south of Florence, had passed through seven centuries of use: built for the Machiavelli family in the 14th or 15th century, commandeered as a German military headquarters during the Second World War, converted to an Allied hospital after the German retreat, and then left to deteriorate across decades until Cohen walked into it. The frescoes were still there, under the neglect.

Cohen restored the villa and turned 43 of its 242 hectares to Sangiovese-based wine. The estate now holds three tiers inside the Chianti Classico DOCG hierarchy, from an appellation-level blend through a Riserva to a Gran Selezione, plus a single-variety Merlot Supertuscan outside the appellation. Farming across all 43 vineyard hectares is organic, with a triple selection of grapes at harvest.

Place

Sant'Andrea in Percussina sits at the northern edge of the Chianti Classico zone, the legally defined appellation that runs between Florence and Siena in central Tuscany. The Chianti Classico DOCG is Sangiovese country: the rules require it as the dominant grape, and the three-tier hierarchy of DOCG, Riserva, and Gran Selezione governs how long a wine must age and how it may be selected.

At 12 km from Florence, the estate is closer to the city than to Siena, placing it at the cooler northern end of the zone. The consequence in the glass is that Sangiovese here tends toward firm acidity and dark cherry rather than the riper, rounder profile of the warmer southern reaches around Castelnuovo Berardenga.

Soil And Site

The 43 vineyard hectares sit within a 242-hectare estate, meaning more than four-fifths of the land is given to olive groves, woodland, and the restored villa itself. The estate produces extra virgin olive oil from more than 600 olive trees alongside the wine. Soil type and elevation at the individual parcels are not confirmed in current sources.

Story

The Machiavelli family built the villa in the 14th or 15th century, in the hills south of Florence that were already established wine country. Niccolò Machiavelli spent his years of enforced exile from Florence at this estate and at the nearby Albergaccio, where he wrote The Prince while farming and waiting to be recalled to the city's service. The connection between the political theorist and this piece of ground is biographical: he lived on it, farmed it, and kept up correspondence with friends in Florence from it.

After the Machiavelli family, the estate changed hands repeatedly across the following centuries. During the Second World War it became German military command headquarters, then after the German retreat an Allied hospital, before returning to private ownership in a long deterioration. When Cohen bought it in 2001, the restoration he began was not simply cosmetic. The estate recovered original interior frescoes, converted the vineyards to organic farming, and built a winery where none had functioned for decades. The wine range followed the restoration.

Vineyards And Cellar

All vineyard work is organic. At harvest, grapes go through a triple selection process before they reach the cellar, removing substandard fruit before fermentation begins. The effect of multiple sorting passes is a higher proportion of intact, ripe grapes entering the tanks, which translates to cleaner fruit character and more even extraction.

For the Gran Selezione Z District, fermentation runs at a controlled temperature not exceeding 26 degrees Celsius, with maceration in stainless steel tanks for approximately 20 days. The extended skin contact builds colour and tannin from the Sangiovese before oak ageing takes over. The wine then spends 24 months in French oak barrels, half of them new, followed by 9 months in bottle before release. New oak at 50 percent does not dominate the cherry fruit.

Wines

The range follows the three tiers of the Chianti Classico pyramid. The standard Chianti Classico DOCG blends 85 percent Sangiovese with 10 percent Canaiolo and 5 percent Colorino. Both Canaiolo and Colorino are indigenous Tuscan varieties: Canaiolo softens the tannin frame and adds a floral note, while Colorino contributes colour depth and a slightly bitter edge. The blend formula is one of the traditional Chianti Classico compositions.

The Chianti Classico Riserva moves to 100 percent Sangiovese, stripping out the blending partners to focus on the primary grape. Where the DOCG is blended for approachability, the Riserva concentrates on Sangiovese's harder, more angular character: darker cherry, firmer tannin, longer ageing potential.

The Gran Selezione Z District uses 95 percent Sangiovese and 5 percent Merlot. The addition of Merlot at this level is unusual given that the Riserva is pure Sangiovese, but the Gran Selezione category allows estate selections with flexibility in composition. The 5 percent Merlot rounds the edges of the tannin without changing the wine's fundamental Sangiovese character. Across the range, cherry is the dominant fruit register, moving from brighter, more accessible fruit in the DOCG to darker, more concentrated cherry in the Riserva and Gran Selezione.

The 100 percent Merlot Supertuscan sits outside the Chianti Classico classification entirely. It is a varietal wine produced from Merlot parcels on the estate, labelled under the broader Tuscany IGT designation rather than the appellation. Composition and ageing details for this bottling are not published in current sources.

In The Glass

The Gran Selezione Z District gives the clearest taste picture of what the estate does in its cellar. On the nose it opens with bitter cherry, concentrated and direct, with the oak present but not leading. In the mouth, the tannin from the 20-day maceration is firm and the fruit holds its concentration through the mid-palate. The 24 months in French oak add a cedar and dark spice layer, while the 50 percent new oak proportion keeps the wood integrated rather than dominant. The finish is long, with the bitter cherry note returning and the tannin drying cleanly. It is a wine that needs time at the table.

The Riserva, at 100 percent Sangiovese, will be tighter and more angular in youth, with the grape's characteristic acidity cutting through the dark fruit. The standard DOCG, blended with Canaiolo and Colorino, is the most approachable tier: the Canaiolo softens the Sangiovese's grip and the Colorino adds a purple fruit depth.

A Bottle To Understand It

The Gran Selezione Z District is the bottle that shows the estate at full commitment. It is 95 percent Sangiovese from a single estate selection, fermented slowly at low temperature, macerated for 20 days, and aged for two years in French oak before nine months of bottle rest. In the glass it gives bitter cherry, concentrated fruit, firm tannin, and a long finish with balanced cedar from the oak. The Gran Selezione Z District is composed of 95 percent Sangiovese and 5 percent Merlot. Start here to understand what the Chianti Classico zone produces at its most serious on this estate.

Anecdote

In the autumn of 1944, the German military had already left Villa Mangiacane, and Allied medical staff were setting up cots where the command maps had been. The villa had served as a German headquarters through the occupation of central Tuscany, and when the front moved north, the building changed function overnight. For months it worked as a field hospital, and then the war ended and it was handed back. What followed was not a revival but a long slow emptying: the property passed through hands, the frescoes on the interior walls gathered plaster dust, and the vineyards contracted. By 2001, when Glynn Cohen bought the estate, the villa had been deteriorating for decades. His restoration team found the original frescoes still intact beneath the neglect, and the winery he built on the property began producing wine from the same hills Niccolò Machiavelli had farmed five centuries before.

Final Word

Villa Mangiacane is a Chianti Classico estate with a layered history and a clear range. The standard DOCG is a well-proportioned Sangiovese blend, the Riserva takes the grape to its single-variety character, and the Gran Selezione Z District shows what 24 months in French oak and a careful harvest selection can do with the same fruit. The historical backdrop is vivid without being decorative: the estate's seven-century arc from Renaissance villa to modern organic winery gives the wines a specific address and a retellable story.

Sources

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