The love for Montalcino and the new youth of Ridolfi

Jun 26 2019, 10:05 | by Gambero Rosso

Located on the north side of Montalcino, near the Strada del Burnello, Ridolfi is a traditional wine estate which is now living a second youth. Here's its story.

Località Mercatali, Montalcino: this is where Ridolfi is located. The estate, which previously belonged to the Florentine family whose name it bears with the coat of arms on the label, was bought in 2011 by the entrepreneur Giuseppe Valter Peretti, owner of the Rocchetto estate in Larciano in Chianti, about twenty kilometers south of Pistoia.

Ridolfi: Giuseppe Peretti and his love for Montalcino

“For a long time I was evaluating some wineries in the area that had been offered to me”, Peretti explains, “I chose this one because it was the right size, neither too big nor too small. However, it lacked adequate facilities; for this reason I immediately started working on designing a new cellar, trying to expand the vineyard area a little”. Giuseppe Peretti is head of one of the most important groups in the Italian leather tanning industry: the group that bears his name is based in the Valle del Chiampo district, in Veneto.

From leather tanning to Ridolfi wine

How did you get to Ridolfi? “Wine is a passion I have been cultivating for a long time and Montalcino is a love that dates back to the 1970s. It's not just a territory: it has now become a renowned brand worldwide. When I decided to diversify my business realities, it was only natural that I would choose this portion of Tuscany”.

Montalcino and Strada del Brunello

The company is located on the north side of Montalcino, the generally cooler one, at about 300 meters above sea level near the Strada del Brunello wine road: 35 hectares, of which 19 are vineyards, to which the 22 of the Rocchetto Estate are added, in the province of Pistoia, where the vineyard extends for five hectares and the olive grove for eleven. The grapes are then transformed by the skilled hands of Gianni Maccari, in the company since 2014 after a long experience in Poggio di Sotto.

Ridolfi: a traditional style

“Our style is traditional, to exalt the characteristics of the grapes we bring to the cellar”, says the oenologist, “always very healthy grapes that come from vineyards cultivated with particular attention to the environment: copper and sulfur for treatments, sexual confusion against pests, sowing and green manure between the rows”.

Ridolfi's wines

The range of wines starts from Rosso di Montalcino: “For us this is a very important wine, because it represents the caling card for Brunello; so, after eight months of medium-sized oak, we choose the best barrel, the one that proves to be the most ready for the type”.

Ridolfi's Brunello

Then we pass to Brunello, a traditional technique––vinification in steel with long maceration on the skins, oak barrels of 25 to 35 hectoliters for 36 month––and in the stretch. Donna Rebecca is more modern, Brunello looking to Burgundy: maceration and fermentation in new, un-roasted barriques, then matured in barriques for 28 months. Finally the Mercatale, for now a selection from the barrel, but it's the label that from the 2015 vintage will be destined to the Riserva.