Terroir & Vineyards

Warm, humid winds come from the sea to the west, ripening fruit before the autumn rains arrive, whose timing helps determine the quality of each harvest.

Il Pareto Vineyard

At 350 meters in elevation, the 10-acre Il Pareto vineyard has clay soil with lime and gravel-size stones. The soil composition is ideal for Cabernet Sauvignon, with a high proportion of galestro rock.

La Forra Vineyard

Both La Forra and the Chianti Classico Riserva are produced from the superb La Forra parcel, the estate’s finest vineyard, situated on a southerly-exposed slope at an altitude of 900 feet. The single-vineyard wine, Vigneto La Forra Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG, is made only in exceptional vintages.  As of the 2011 vintage, it bears the prestious new “Gran Selezione” top-level classification.

Le Bruniche Vineyard

The principal white vineyards of the Nozzole estate, Le Bruniche and Casa Vecchia, were once planted in Trebbiano Toscano and Malvasia, which were white grapes included in the Chianti blend before they were phased out of the DOCG rules in 1995. In the mid-1980s viticulturists at Tenuta di Nozzole began experimenting in these vineyards with various classic white vine varieties. Of the two principal white vine vineyards, Le Bruniche was found to be exceptionally well-suited to the Chardonnay variety. Vigneto Le Bruniche lies on one of the estate’s most elevated hillsides, at 900 feet above sea level, on soils consisting of limestone schists and porous marl rubble with an optimum ground thermal temperature and excellent exposure. Extensive experimentation with various clones of Chardonnay preceded selection of the most appropriate vine for the site, which produced its first vintage in 1986.