If the walls of Villa di Geggiano could talk, they’d have some of the richest stories to tell of any estate we visit every year in France and Italy. They’d speak of the Bandinelli family’s arrival at the modest and original 14th-century farmhouse just north of Siena in 1527. They could share HGTV-worthy details of the property’s expansion, in 1768, into a magnificent villa, and gossip from the undoubtedly opulent parties held thereafter. They might reenact the works performed at the estate’s outdoor theater by Vittorio Alfieri, the 18th-century dramatist and poet considered to be the founder of Italian tragedy; or scenes from Stealing Beauty, the 1996 film shot at the Villa by Bernardo Bertolucci, starring Liv Tyler and Jeremy Irons. They might divulge how Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli, famed archaeologist, Communist, and grandfather of the current proprietors, Andrea and Alessandro, redistributed much of the estate’s land to its sharecroppers after the Second World War. Today, these walls would tell of the lavish weddings that take place at the Villa, helping the Bandinelli brothers cover the cost of maintaining this National Heritage site. But most importantly, they’d sing of the pure, hearty, and joyous reds made by our longest-running producers of Chianti Classico, Andrea and Alessandro. Using organic methods to honor and maximize their clay-rich soils surrounding the Villa and big barrels to age the wine, they’ve produced a beautiful rosso in 2019 brimming with notes of black cherries, blood orange, and earth. Pour it alongside your favorite cut of meat, now or in twenty years. 

Ferretti, a small estate run by the young Matteo Perugino, is the latest addition to our Tuscan portfolio. While the farm dates back to the early days of Brunello di Montalcino history Matteo’s great-grandfather was among the twenty-five founding members of the Brunello Consortium back in 1967—only recently did the family start to bottle their own wine. They fashion a lean and energetic style of Sangiovese from exceptionally rocky vineyards at high elevation, where cool nights confer a bright spine of acidity to provide the juicy, sun-charged wild fruit with a delightfully fresh balance. While still new on the scene, Ferretti is a name to remember in Montalcino, as this delicious young Rosso attests.

The Sesti family, our longest-standing partner in Montalcino, is lucky enough to have settled five decades ago in one of the area’s most ideal microclimates for making wine. High on a hill, at 1,000 feet of elevation, the family’s Castello di Argiano and the surrounding vines benefit from frequent cooling ocean breezes and the rains they bring, all of which balance out the hot summer days. The “good air of Argiano,” as it is called around here, has been a known fact passed down through oral tradition for many, many generations of civilization.
      “We were blessed,” says Elisa Sesti, “with two rainfalls during the summer of 2017, which were so localized that they didn’t reach as far as four kilometers from us. This was a present from the Gods. This is a vintage whose quality was determined by localized microclimates and the work of the winemaker.”
      With a regal perfume that is both sweet and savory, a ripe berry fruit accented by balmy herbs and earthy wafts of incense, this enthralling Brunello is already approachable, but will reward you if you set aside a few bottles to open over the next ten years.