Chianti Mama

Certosa Di Belriguardo

Wine has always been one of the passions of Gianna Nannini who engaging the services of qualified winemaking experts first and foremost the oenologist Renzo Cotarella has ensured that Certosa di Belriguardo has become one of the most renowned and interesting estates in the area. The Belriguardo Charterhouse stands on the hills surrounding Siena about 7 km from the city center. The context is one of typical Tuscan beauty: a landscape where vines and olive trees alternate in an array of colors creating the atmospheres that have traditionally earmarked this land as being perfectly suited to winegrowing. The estate (which occupies an area of about 75 hectares 8 of which are cultivated as vineyards) is located in the Chianti delle Colline Senesi region where the Sangiovese grape variety holds the role of undisputed protagonist. The historical building of the Charterhouse (on which work began in around 1340 and was completed in 1347) is enhanced by a row of cypresses and stands at the entrance to the estate on the slope overlook Siena. The first twelve monks settled at Belriguardo in 1348 as stated in the Papal Bull dispatched in that same year to the Bishop of Siena by Pope Clement VI from his exile in Avignon (France). The Cellar Registers on the other hand date back to the end of the 16th century and testify to the existence of a “bracelet pergola” and of an abundant and prestigious production of wine sold on the Siena market. There is written evidence of the existence of varieties such as “Moscatello” “Rosso” and “Bianco di Clausura”. These time-honored names originally given to the wines made by the monks have been partly revived to emphasize the close link between the estate’s present-day production and that of its historical past.