Villa di Vetrice is an organic estate in Pontassieve north of Florence in Tuscany, Italy.

Owner: The Grati family have been producing wines in the Chianti Rùfina DOCG region for five generations. The 16th century Villa di Vetrice was built around an old 13th-century watchtower. Wines made here are Chianti Rùfina DOCG and Vin Santo del Chianti Rùfina DOC. An organic sub-brand was created by the owners and is called Borgo Prunatelli. It is named after a Fattoria on the estate.

Borgo Prunatelli vineyards: Borgo Prunatelli is the jewel in the Grati family’s crown; an estate at the summit of the Villa di Vetrice hill, cultivated and certified organic. Sangiovese comprises 85% of the vineyard, but Gualberto also uses several rarer native Tuscan varieties including Abrostine, Colorino, mammolo, grande noir, and Sanforte. The mainly Sangiovese vineyards are dotted with rare minor heritage grape varieties like the Sanforte, with its tar-like red cherry and useful acidity, plus both the rare Abrostine and the dark fleshed Colorino, colour-rich both.

The Fattoria di Galiga (another Tuscan estate in Pontassieve owned by the Grati family-seeSee Azienda Vinicola Galiga Fratelli Grati) and Villa di Vetrice estates, run by Aziende Agricole Grati extend over 562 hectares and are situated between Pontassieve and Rùfina. The vineyards comprise over 100 hectares, the majority of which is Sangiovese, plus other traditional Tuscan red grape varieties like Colorino and Canaiolo. As well as vines, olive and cypress trees are planted.

Vineyards: 562 hectares of land of which  100ha are destined for viticulture. The vines grown are Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Colorino, Cabernet, Merlot, Malvasia and Trebbiano.

Terroir: The company is located in Montebonello, just above Rufina. Galiga and Vetrice is the name given to the two lakes that were created by the family to provide a balance to the ecosystem of the territory between ­Pontassieve and Rufina, of which they own.

Organic certification: 2012 First vintage with full organic certification for part of the vineyard, with the wines marketed under the Borgo Prunatelli brand aimed at a younger, woke demographic.

White wines

IGT Toscana Canaiolo Bianco Borgo Prunatelli: Made from a 0.50 ha plot of Canaiolo Bianco planted in a spot (400m, facing south south-west, on clay rich in stones) also well suited to Sangiovese. The budwood was taken from vines on the estate by Roberto Bandinelli, an ampelographer from Florence University. The wine is 100% Canaiolo Bianco, and not Canaiolo Nero made as a white. |  2012 Debut. | 2016 13.5% alc. 100% Canaiolo Bianco. Certified organic. Hand picked. Cold maceration on skins. Fermented 70% in stainless steel and 30% in oak. 1,400 bottles. A soft-centred but refreshing white, well balanced and smooth, lightly saline and tangy, with a fairly neutral flavour profile save for a double twist of light white and yellow tropical fruit aromatics (12 March 2021).

Red wines

Chianti Rùfina DOCG, Villa di Vetrice: Fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. Refined in concrete vats. Aged 6 months in 28hl oak casks. 2018 13% alc. A well put together Chianti Rùfina with dark red fruit with a very engaging tangy note and well supported by new or newish oak oak with medium-body and plenty of life ahead. I’d give this at least another 3-4 years in bottle for it to round out fully, or drink it over a couple of days having decanted it first like I did (Feb 2021).

Chianti Rùfina DOCG Riserva, Villa di Vetrice: 2015 13% alc. Salty-tangy mid-weight dark fruit with oak (some old, some new I think) in the background. Needed decanting to loosen up. Mid-weight, smooth and with well-judged tannins but not yet in its prime (March 2021). The same bottle was left a little over half full for 8 or so days and this allowed it to open out beautifully, its really juicy-tangy dark red fruit very lively and compact but more yielding than in its first tasting, its insistent fruit much more playful and in sync with the light, equally integrated oak sheen from barrel ageing. Drink 2021–2035.

Chianti Rùfina DOCG Riserva, Vigneto Terre di Avanella: 2012 13% alc. Needed decanting to loosen up, allowing the tanginess of the fruit to shine (April 2021).

Chianti Rùfina DOCG Riserva, Borgo Prunatelli: South-west facing. 400 metres asl. Clay rich in stones. A mix of grapes in the vineyard such as Abrostine, Colorino, Mammolo, Sanforte. Oldest vines from 1913–1915, other vines from the 1990s. All co-fermented. | 2016 85% Sangiovese, 15% Abrostine, Colorino, Mammolo, and Sanforte.13.5% alc. Certified organic. 14,600 bottles. Robust initially, took two days to loosen up, gave plenty of tannin with the fruit backed up with some still youthful oak (part new, part 2nd-fill I think, still rather young but enjoyable and well put together in a forthright style with plenty of time ahead (March 2021).

Sweet wines

Vin Santo del Chianti Rùfina DOC Riserva, Villa di Vetrice: 2003 Produced. | 2004 16.5% alc. A rich vin Santo with a powerful load of sweetness and a lick of alcohol in the finish (18 April 2022).

Contact

Villa di Vetrice

Via di Vetrice, 5

50065 Pontassieve (FI), Italy

Tel+ 055 839 7008 | Website: www.villadivetrice.it.