Who we are…The history of this winery begins in the early 1950s when Giuseppe Beconcini purchases from the estate of the Marchesi Ridolfi family the lands where his forefathers have been working for many years. During the years from being an agricultural property it becomes a strictly viticultural and winemaking estate.

The most interesting results are: • the selection of two local Sangiovese clones, used for the wine production; • the increase of Malvasia nera grape plantings; • the discovery of the unexpected presence at San Miniato of the fabulous grape variety that we now know is Tempranillo.

Leonardo Beconcini avocation starts to take shape in the 1990s when he takes over the reins of the business from his father Pietro, with the first vintage of a monovarietal Sangiovese. Since 1997, Eva Bellagamba embarks this new activity with Leonardo and decide together to undertake the studies of the local environment.

San Miniato, our territoryOver its history the local area has always been densely planted with vineyards, in most cases linked to large Church properties.

From World War II San Miniato has witnessed a significant production of the Sangiovese, the most famous grape in Tuscany.

Today, this very extensive commune halfway between Pisa and Florence is still a very significant viticultural producer, with some 600 hectares in vineyard.

Soils VineyardsThe soil where we work is an extraordinary blend of different components.The main one is a very dense, compact white clay which means laborious work to cultivate vineyards.

The other geological are incredibly various, composed mainly of a whole series of sandstones and Pliocene-era marine fossils, and the layers are quite thin.

The vineyards cover a total of 12 hectares of territory and are the fruit of long, attentive observation and selection of the grape varieties growing in these small parcels.

From the early 1990s to today we have studied enormous numbers of grape varieties, all of them exclusively indigenous and traditional to this area. Today, we grow mainly Sangiovese, Malvasia nera and Tempranillo.

Discovering Tempranillo…

In the early 90’s, during the selections from old vineyards, we found out a particular vine that neither the most expert academics nor the most ancient winegrowers could identify.

We decided to carry out in-depth studies and propagate this vine, planting 5 hectares between 1997 and 2003. Since we didn’t know about its origins, for 13 years we called this vine “X”. In 2004 the DNA analysis recognized it as Tempranillo, a discovery that astounded Tuscany.

In the meantime we tried to track backwards in time, in 1700, when the Via Francigena, which pass through our property, served by the most important road to reach Rome on pilgrimages.

San Miniato was an important religious place and seat of an episcopal curia, which owned and cultivated a huge amount of land.

The Tuscan TempranilloNew vineyards were started, by planting grape seeds, primarely because over long journeys it was easier to carry seeds rather than an heavy bundle of canes. This fact strengthnnes our research and indicates that a high percentage of genetic material is identical to a variety known today in Spain as Tempranillo but with some obvious differences. The unique characteristics of Tempranillo vines today are due above all to spontaneous evolution over the centuries they have been in our vineyards and to their intimate relationship with the terroir.

The Tempranillo of San Miniato, thanks to its unique genetic makeup, yields grapes of significant versatility. They lend themselves to producing wines that are quite long-lived, combining the well-known varietal smoothness with other characteristics dues mainly to the terroir: the acidity typical of Tuscany, the savouriness and mineraly tang that are the gift of our limestone soils.

The SangioveseThe history of Sangiovese is obviously the history of Tuscany, the iconic variety of our region, but it also the grape that more than any other takes on different aspects according to where it is grown. In the early ‘90s we began to identify the various types of Sangiovese. At the end, we selected the two clones that we are still working with, since they responded best to our desire to advance from producing straightforward wines to long-lived, complex ones.

Thanks to this area’s clay-rich soils, all of the wines display intense hues, even the Sangioveses that are notoriously light-coloured in other areas.But the most significant difference is in the nose and in the type of tannins, which are rich in all Tuscan Sangioveses. The predominant aromas in the young wines are those of fruit and roses, and change during each year, while the tannins are the smoothest and juiciest in all Tuscany.