Castello dei Rampolla

Castello dei Rampolla is in a beautiful location in the heart of Chianti Classico. The winery is among the pioneers who dared to plant cabernet sauvignon and blend it with sangiovese in the 1980s. Today, these wines are sold under the label Super Tuscan.

The Rampolla estate has been owned by the family since 1739, but the first vines were not planted until the 1960s. The first wines were produced in 1975. Around that time, Chianti's reputation was not what it used to be, so Alceo di Napoli Rampolla decided to be one of the first to plant international grape varieties. With the help of Giacomo Tachis (then winemaker of Sassicaia, Tignanelo and Solaia), he produced his first blend based on cabernet sauvignon and sangiovese. These so-called table wines became an outright success and Castello dei Rampolla instantly became one of Tuscany's top wines.

The vineyards have a total area of 42 hectares and are planted at 350 metres altitude. Here you will find merlot, petit verdot, chardonnay, trebbiano, traminer and sauvignon blanc in addition to the two aforementioned grape varieties. The vines are maintained and cultivated according to biodynamic regulations.

Seven different wines appear from Rampolla's cellar. Of these, five are reds, one orange and one sweet vendemmia tardiva. The absolute top cuvées are d'Alceo and Sammarco. The wines are fermented in concrete tanks and then mature for 12-15 months in oak barrels. After 1.5-2 years of bottle aging, the wines are released on the market.

Castello di Rampolla's Super Tuscans are much loved worldwide. Would you like to get your hands on one of these magnificent bottles? Then don't wait too long, as the circulation of d'Alceo and Sammarco is only between 6,000 - 25,000 bottles a year. The winery's most iconic vintages are 1999, 2000, 2007 and 2008.