padelletti
Claudia Susanna Padelletti
Montalcino
Tuscany - Italy
story…
The Padellettis are one of the oldest and most historic families in all of Montalcino. The family has roots in the area that date back as far as the 13th century, most likely even further. Their name first appears in 1529 with Giovanni Padelletti, who was an architect and was given charge of a section of wall and two gates around Montalcino to defend the city from Spanish invaders. To this day the Padelletti family still owns the land around that section of wall and gates. During the reign of the Medici Giovanni was forced to leave the city, but his descendants would return in 1572 and reclaim the land that Giovanni had possessed prior to the rule of the Medici. Since 1572 there has been a descendent of the Padelletti family on this historic parcel of land.
Grapevines have been cultivated around the estate since before the Padelletti took possession of the land, along with the vineyards there have also been olive groves since at least the 1500’s. All of the family’s vines are located in the historic Rigaccini plot that is set just at the foot of the hill of Montalcino. The family went through many ups and downs throughout the past 400 years in the region, particularly the 19th century was rather tough on the family. Many of the members died at young ages, but around the turn of the century things started to improve. Carlo Augusto took control of the families estate and kept the estate and surrounding vines and olive trees in good management. Carlo was a fascinating man; by 1899 he held four doctorites, was a diplomat, a judge and a physician. He also brought electricity to the region via combustion generators, he then introduced electric flour and saw mills, olive presses and a brick kiln. He then built a paper and book binding industry and eventually a cinema in the town. Even without having ties to this historic family in the region, Carlo was a true visionary and important person in the Montalcino region.
The Padellettis have always been important to the wine production of Montalcino, well before it was recognized as DOC or DOCG producing region. They long have held the largest holdings of vineyards around the city of Montalcino and today are one of the only estates to continue cultivating vines in this area exclusively. Along with the family at Biondi Santi they are one of the founding families to push for the recognition of Montalcino as a special region, they also were the first to create a wine cooperative in the region along with Biondi Santi in 1925. Today the estate is under the guidance of Claudia Susanna Padelletti, the matriarch of the family and the last to carry the Padelletti name. She runs the estate alongside her son, Silvano Tarducci, and daughter Viviana.
farming & Philosophy…
All farming is done strictly under organic and biodynamic practices, the expect to receive organic certification in 2023 but have been farming with organics for many years. They are also in the process of being certified biodynamic.
Cellar work is about as traditional as it gets, the families cellar is housed underneath their 16th century home in the heart of the town of Montalcino. All fermentations are carried out in glass-lined cement tanks with native yeasts and the juice macerates on the skins for about 3-5 weeks depending on the vintage and bottling. All of their wines are aged in large, 30 hectoliter Slavonian oak botti & 30 hectoliter French oak botti. In fact they were one of the first to use Slavonian oak botti; their use of French oak, in smaller portions than the Slavonian, is their only real break from tradition.
Vineyards…
Their vineyard holdings consist of a single, contiguous 6 hectare plot of vines that range from 15-50 years old. They sit on the hill of Montalcino at around 430 masl in a mix of marl, sandstone and clay soils. They only bottle three separate wines; a Rosso, a Brunello, & a Brunello Riserva. The fruit for the Rosso comes from about 2 hectares of vines located at lower elevation in their vineyard holdings. The remaining 4 hectares of vines are all used for their Brunello production
