The Frescobaldi family, originally from Florence, are a noble family who have been involved in the cultural, political and economic life of Tuscany since the Middle Ages.
Some wine companies can take pride in having been under the control of the same family for two or three hundred years. Very, very few can look back over seven centuries. As long ago as 1300, a Frescobaldi could stand on the terrace of his Tenuta di Castiglioni home in Val di Pesa, to the south west of Florence, look out across his vineyards and consider the differencesin the flavours of the wines that came from each part of the estate. We know that these individual characteristics and the general quality of their wines mattered to the Frescobaldi family all those years ago, because they kept records that can still be read today.
The family had already been a distinguished banking dynasty since the early days of the city-state of Florence, commissioning architectural marvels such as the Church of Santo Spirito and the Santa Trinità bridge across the river Arno. Among their friends were poets and artists such as Dante Alighieri and Donatello, a regular buyer of wine from their Nipozzano estate. Another historic fan was the English king Henry VIII, who served Frescobaldi at his sixteenth century court.
In more recent times, the Frescobaldi name has been synonymous in wine circles with both quality and innovation. In 1855, they were the first in Tuscany to plant Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Nero and Chardonnay, at Nipozzano and at their Pomino domaine. This last estate was also the place where, in 1894, they built Italy’s first gravity-fed cellars.
Always on the lookout for unusually fine vineyards, they bought Castelgiocondo in Montalcino in 1989 where, six years later, they created the Luce della Vite Estate. Since then, they have also acquired the Estate of Conti Attems in Friuli, taken over the management of the Ornellaia estate in Bolgheri, and opened an ultra-modern cellar – Tenuta dell’Ammiraglia - in Maremma.
Proof of the quality of the Frescobaldi wines has regularly been provided by top critics in Italy and across the world. There have been frequent awards of scores of over 90 points by publications such as the Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast, and their Nipozzano wine frequently features on lists of the world’s finest 100.
A notable recent initiative has been the launch of a highly praised organic white wine called Gorgona, which is produced largely by the inmates of a prison on an island around 30k off the Tuscan coast. Working on every aspect of the wine is helping the prisoners to reintegrate into society after their release.
Another wine launched in 2014 is Nipozzano Vecchie Viti, expression of an ancient family tradition and of the soil and climate of Nipozzano, the historical family estate.
President of the company is – since June 2013 – Lamberto Frescobaldi, born and brought up with a great passion for wine: his aim, along with the other family members, is to produce quality Tuscan wine and care for the family business their ancestors established so many centuries ago
Marchesi de‘ Frescobaldi
Via S. Spirito 11
50125 Filorence
Italy
Tel: +39 055 27141
www.frescobaldi.it
