Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi, is synonymous with guarantee and tradition within the international wine-making sector. After all, seven hundred years of history in the cellar are not to be sniffed at….. On the other hand this is one of the oldest families in Italy, most certainly the oldest in terms of wine-making, since their production started in 1300 and is now one of the most internationally renowned, thanks to their constant ability to develop and renew, always however keeping in mind their highly respectable heritage.

The name Frescobaldi does not however only evoke wine, but also a long-standing tradition in Italian art, culture and history. The Frescobaldi family boast among their ancestors poets, explorers, musicians, bankers and politicians. Their commitment to winegrowing has however always been a very important aspect of family life. For 30 generations – namely from the XIV century – this family has in fact been producing wine in their many Tuscan estates , although the annexations of the estates belonging to the Albizi, another great family of the Italian aristocracy, which resulted in this brand’s leap forward, only date back to the XIX.

Since the postwar period Lamberto Frescobaldi and his son Vittorio – the current Chairman – have been promoting modernisation, organisation and wine-growing in their various estates, particularly those at Pomino’s Castle, where we have been given hospitality by Tiziana Frescobaldi, supreme hostess and communications officer of the family-run company.

After a beautiful journey which took us near the first mountains of the Apennines we reached the Castle, which is situated on the incline of the Val di Sieve, about 40 km northeast from Florence. Within Tuscany this estate represents a unique productive environment, thanks to a specific climate microcosm which provides a perfect balance between vineyards and woods.

The elegant and austere 500-year-old Pomino Castle is surrounded by over 1,400 hectares of land, mainly characterised by sandy soil and an altitude which varies between 400 and 750 metres. The castle was built in the XVI century by the architect Gherardo Silvani and was recently the subject of careful restoration. In the wide portico we are attracted, on the left, by a lovely little chapel, consecrated in the Seventeenth century and frescoed by Filippo Tarchiani, but soon the time comes for us to get to the heart of the matter, so to speak… Tiziana Frescobaldi and the enologist Francesca Pratesi prove to be very thorough and accurate guides, as we are led to the pulsating heart of Pomino Castle, its cellars, to witness with our own eyes the production and development of one of Italy’s smallest D.o.c.s.

The nineteenth-century cellars,which are laid out over three floors, are the result of a state-of-the-art architectural design that exploited gravity to make wine ‘fall’ from one floor to the next. The ground floor is crowded with tuns made of Slovenian wood, all lined up like soldiers: the basement, almost a temple to Bacchus, is divided into three ‘aisles’ where the ‘barrique’ are left to rest for 18 months. The top floor is the splendid ‘vinsantaia’, unique in its genre both in terms of charm and technique: at Pomino grapes are in fact laid onto vertical trellises in a dry and well-aired environment where windows are always left open.

Thanks to its environmental characteristics and the optimal exposure of its vineyards, Pomino produces great classy wines characterised by their strong qualities, their aromas and scents and their high level of acidity. As well as Sangiovese, Chardonnay, Pinot Nero, Pinot Bianco, Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Moscato are also grown here. Pinot Nero in particular deserves a few words, as it is one of the most difficult species of grape to grow but has found, here at Pomino, the type of environment with a varied range of temperatures which is not common to these regions and which contributes to creating refined and classy nectars.

These are the wine-growers’ signatures: Pomino Benefizio, Pomino Rosso Casafonte and Pomino Rosso. From the Benefizio, the ‘highest’ of the whole estate, originates the homonymous Cru which is the first Italian white wine made in barrrique since 1979. Casaforte on the other hand is a rare and temperamental Pinot, a great example of Tuscan Nero characterised by its strong qualities:it simply has to be tried. And what about the reassuring ‘classics’, all inimitable and unmistakable, also thanks to their original appearance.

Information:

Castello di Pomino
Visits are by appointment only;
contact Mrs. Nicoletta Piccini,
ringing the head quarters of Marchesi
de’Frescobaldi at 055 27141