Temple, fortress, monastery. Then a castle, a stately mansion, a refuge for shepherds and their flock and finally an art workshop and winery. From the Etruscans, one of the first organized societies, to Roman times, when the foundations of Castello Romitorio were built, perhaps as a prison for deserting soldiers. Going through the turbulent years of the Middle Ages, where the castle was a monastery until the 12th century when Siena and Florence were disputed, and then it was fortified due to its strategic position between the trade routes.

Montalcino and the complex of fortifications of which Romitorio was part, were always proud of their freedom: in 1559 when the Medici surrendered, they represented the last free municipality in Italy. It is from this moment that the first written testimonies of Brunello date back.

Recovered as a manor house and patrician villa already in the 19th century, Romitorio Castle was abandoned after the Second World War and remained uninhabited for a long time, used as a hospice for shepherds and their flock. In the 70s it became the property of Baron Giorgio Franchetti. As he was unable to renovate the Castle, he decided to sell it to the artist Sandro Chia in 1984, who made the old mansion his residence and artistic workshop. Along with the castle, Chía took charge of vineyards, oak forests and gerbera daisies.

The objective was immediately clear: Romitorio could only shine again if, after the recovery of the Castle, its ancient vocation for viticulture was reestablished.

Castello Romitorio is a place where time has a physical and tangible dimension. Where wine thrives in history and history speaks of an ancient passion for this place, always suitable for wine production and always disputed for its strategic importance as a trade and travel route.

The land, viticulture and oenology are committed to the rebirth of Brunello, a centuries-old wine, capable of expressing, here alone, the most authentic potential of Sangiovese. Sandro Chia with the support of Franco Martini – an expert from Brunello di Montalcino – Cellar Master of Castello Romitorio, are at the forefront: they understand the importance of creating classic and representative wines, without fear of looking to the future.

Castello Romitorio inaugurated its new winery in 2005. The 14th century mansion was adorned with the works of Sandro Chia, designed to combine modernity with a thousand years of history and antiquity. In the same year, Sandro's son, Filippo Chia, joined the project and began a process of profound renewal of the wines and the winemaking style, betting on the extremely elegant single-varietal: Sangiovese, to highlight the characteristics of the terroir.

After thirty years of work in the region, today Castello Romitorio is an internationally recognized winery, specialist in Sangiovese and Brunello di Montalcino. The Chia family's commitment moves between tradition and the search for excellence, classicism and innovation. The most demanding challenge is to be in an extraordinary territory and continue to offer wines of qualitative consistency and territorial expressiveness.

work in the warehouse

The Montalcino territory

The town of Montalcino is about 70 kilometers south of Florence, and has a warmer and drier climate than its neighbor, Chianti. The Sangiovese grape is king here, as it is in Chianti, but Montalcino has its own clone called Brunello.

The Romitorio vineyards, abandoned for decades, were replanted with courage and foresight by Sandro Chia in the second half of the 1980s. The Romitorio landscape, which few would have bet on, represented an absolutely wild area of Montalcino, and was It was characterized by a microclimate with less sunny slopes and on average more rigid temperatures than the rest of the appellation. Located in the northwest quadrant of Montalcinese, the Romitorio vineyards rise around the Castle, in a mountain system that, descending from Monte Amiata towards Siena, runs parallel to the slopes of Montalcino. They are small plots immersed in hectares of virgin forests, interspersed with ponds and streams with crystal clear waters. An absolutely uncontaminated environment, characterized by galestro, clay and alberese soils, from which fossils and shells emerge, evidence of an ancient coastal backdrop. The wines produced here are fresh and fruity, incredibly fragrant, of moderate alcohol content and unparalleled finesse, with a saline note and a dynamic and vibrant character.

Integrity and selection guide the work in the Castello Romitorio vineyard. Integrity towards sustainable choices, which respect the biodiversity of a unique landscape in the world and guarantee the continuity of production for future generations. Selection because quality is achieved in the vineyard through careful thinning, classification of the best clusters and punctuality of interventions. Only by selecting times and forms can you obtain the perfection of a fruit that, in the winery, will continue its path to excellent wines.

Working in the winery means improving the potential of the landscape, expressing the characteristics already present in nature and improving the diversity of the terroirs, supporting the natural predisposition of the initial grape variety. It means connecting material and spirit, preserving its purity and quality, intensifying its expression, with lightness.

Castello Romitorio uses a delicate combination of large barrels and French oak for its wines. Long and patient aging in which the wood is never the protagonist, but rather a supporting role in the evolution of the wine. Refinement in the barrel is followed by the necessary rest in the bottle, which far exceeds the times dictated by the specification.

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“To make a great wine you need a madman to cultivate the vines, a wise man to care for them, a lucid poet to create wine, a lover to drink it.”

SALVADOR DALI

“Art and the vineyard live on evaluations, sometimes minimal, others… imperceptible. It is our task: to improve these details, to turn them into absolutes.”

SANDRO CHIA

“Working the vineyard is like working on yourself: you always start from what is there, from what exists, not to change it, but to improve its uniqueness, its place in the world”

SANDRO CHIA

Tenuta GhiaccioForte

History

Tenuta GhiaccioForte is a leading property in Scansano located within the Maremma coastal region of Tuscany. Founded by sculptor Sandro Chia, it is now run by his son Filippo Chia. The estate currently produces two wines, GhiaccioForte, Morellino di Scansano DOCG and Ripaforte, Toscana IGT. The estate also produces Syrah and Petit Verdot destined for the production of Castello Romitorio's RomiToro.

The vineyards are owned by the winery and are located at the top of Aquilaia and along the banks of the Albegna River in the south of Scansano. Planting was carried out in two phases from 1999-2001 using local Sangiovese clones. The same happened with Petit Verdot and Syrah, and a small part of Cabernet Sauvignon. The second planting was carried out in 2006 with Petit Verdot and Syrah and new clones of Sangiovese. The estate currently has 12 hectares of Morellino di Scansano and almost 20 hectares of total vineyards. It is located adjacent to the remains of the Etruscan fortified city of GhiaccioForte, a national park, from which the winery takes its name.

The name GhiaccioForte translates to "Fort Ice." This area was settled since at least 500 BC and was once home to a flourishing Etruscan city whose remains are located less than a kilometer from the winery.

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