Summary
Cantine Leonardo da Vinci is a growers cooperative based in Vinci, the Tuscan town west of Florence where Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452. In 1961 around 30 small growers there joined forces so that they would no longer sell their grapes individually but vinify them together. Today more than 200 farms belong to the cooperative, working around 500 hectares of vineyard in the hills of the Montalbano; together with the vineyards in Montalcino the total comes to roughly 750 hectares. The range runs from classic Chianti DOCG through white and red wines under the Toscana IGT to Brunello di Montalcino DOCG. That makes the house one of Tuscany's larger producers – and at the same time an example of how cooperative winemaking can hold an entire landscape together.
History
The story begins in 1961, when around 30 small growers from Vinci decided to join forces. The reason was practical: on their own, none of them could afford a modern winery; together they could. They shared the cost of buildings, tanks and press, and in doing so laid the foundation for one of Tuscany's best-known cooperatives. The initial vineyard area was about 70 hectares.
The first joint harvest was brought in during 1965, with the wine at first still sold locally by the barrel. An important step followed in 1971 with the cooperative's own bottling line: from then on it could market its wine in bottle and under its own name – the precondition for building a brand at all.
Over the following decades the house grew considerably. In 1988 the Fattoria di Montalbano, an estate with around 80 hectares of vineyard, was added, and 1990 brought the move into Montalcino with vineyards of its own in the Val di Cava – the basis of today's Brunello. Since 2012 Cantine Leonardo da Vinci has belonged to the Caviro group, Italy's largest wine producer, which is likewise organised as a cooperative.
Location & Terroir
Vinci lies around 30 kilometres west of Florence on the southern slope of the Montalbano, a wooded ridge between the Arno and the plain of Pistoia. The members' vineyards stretch across the slopes around Vinci and neighbouring Cerreto Guidi. In wine terms the area belongs to the Chianti subzone Montalbano – one of the historic sub-districts of Chianti DOCG and, despite its closeness to Florence, comparatively little known.
The climate is Mediterranean in character but tempered by the ridge: warm, dry summers, cool nights and good airflow across the slopes. The soils are predominantly clay-sand weathered soils, in places calcareous and stony, which preserve freshness and firm acidity in Sangiovese. The second pillar is markedly different: in Montalcino, south of Siena, summers are hotter and drier and the soils poorer – conditions in which Sangiovese develops the density and tannic frame that define Brunello.
Style & Philosophy
As a cooperative the house faces a particular challenge: shaping a consistent style from the grapes of a great many small farms. Cantine Leonardo da Vinci does this through close oenological support for its members in the vineyard and clear quality requirements when grapes are delivered. The crop is vinified separately by origin and quality, so that the same stream of fruit can yield both uncomplicated everyday wines and more ambitious selections.
Stylistically the aim is approachability: the Chianti wines are fruit-forward and medium-bodied with soft tannins rather than austere and unyielding. The Riserva wines and the Brunello add ageing in wood – in large casks as well as barriques – which lends structure and cellaring potential. The whites, above all the Vermentino, are fermented reductively and cool and stay pointedly fresh. In all, around 4.5 million bottles are produced each year.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range is broad and divided into several lines. Among the best-known wines are:
- Da Vinci Chianti DOCG – the house classic on a Sangiovese base, the wine through which most people first meet the estate
- Chianti Riserva DOCG – longer ageing and time in wood, including the Monte Vecchio and Due Mani bottlings
- Brunello di Montalcino DOCG – single-variety Sangiovese from the Val di Cava, aged for several years in wood
- Vermentino Toscana IGT – the house white, for example in the Streda bottling
- I Capolavori – a selection line whose wines carry names drawn from Leonardo's work, among them "Vergine delle Rocce"
Alongside these come further Toscana IGT wines from Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, as well as whites from Trebbiano Toscano and Malvasia.
Awards
It is above all the Brunello di Montalcino that has brought the cooperative international recognition: it was awarded Best of Show Brunello Gold at Mundus Vini 2019 and in the same year took Bronze at the International Wine Challenge and at the Decanter World Wine Awards. Older vintages of the Brunello have also won Gold and Silver at the International Wine Challenge. The Chianti Riserva, too, regularly collects medals, among them Silver at the International Wine & Spirit Awards and at Mundus Vini. For a house of this size that is a remarkably consistent record – and evidence that cooperative winemaking and quality are not mutually exclusive.