Torre alle Tolfe

Torre alle Tolfe is located on one of the highest hills outside Siena, from where you can see not only the city but also far into the Chianti Classico wine-growing region. Siena is a beautiful medieval town in the south of Tuscany that attracts visitors from Italy and all over the world. Since the Torre alle Tolfe winery is only a few minutes outside of Siena, its exposed location meant that in the Middle Ages it served as an outpost and lookout point when attacks by the Florentines were to be feared. Today, the Torre alle Tolfe vineyards, which face from southeast to south, are no less important for the production of first-class organic wines and organic olive oils.

Please scroll down to order the organic wines from Torre alle Tolfe

Torre alle Tolfe, view of Siena

The vineyards of Torre alle Tolfe are located at an altitude of about 300 m and are planted with Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Colorino and Ciliegiolo vines. The high planting density of 4,500 vines/hectare, as well as a relatively small harvest volume, results in very dense, sustainable organic wines with good aging potential.

Since Mania Spalding, the daughter of the owner of Torre alle Tolfe, took over the management of the estate, a new wind has noticeably been blowing here, which is also thanks to the new oenologist Giacomo Mastretta.

Since then, the Chianti Colli Senesi organic wines have only been made from Sangiovese grapes. The Canaiolo, Ciliegiolo and Colorino grape varieties produce very attractive single-varietal organic wines. They are all fermented spontaneously with the grapes' own yeasts. This is an indication of the organic quality and purity of the grapes and that no fungicides were used. Finally, the wine labels were redesigned to reflect the many centuries of existence of Torre alle Tolfe.

Torre alle Tolfe dates back to the 8th century, when Tolfo dei Grici, one of Charlemagne's knights, built a watchtower here to defend Siena. The first written records of wine production on the estate date back to 1316. The history of the Castelli family on the estate goes back to the 1950s, when Luigi Castelli and his wife Lunella Morfini purchased the villa and the surrounding land. Their son Marco Castelli took over the running of the estate from his father in the 1980s and was responsible for continuing work on the villa and surrounding land and vineyards. More recently he has researched the history of the estate and recorded it in writing entitled "Castro de Tolfis". Ownership of the estate is now shared between Marco, his daughter Mania and his son Giotto. Mania Castelli moved back from the UK with her husband Mark Spalding and their family to live on the estate in 2015. They both share a passion for Torre alle Tolfe, its culture and its history closely linked to Siena and the surrounding area. Mania is now fully involved in the running of the estate while Mark works at the University of Siena. Giotto Castelli is an aeronautical engineer based in Cambridge, England, but is actively involved in Torre alle Tolfe. The entire estate is run by the Castelli family with a team of staff, many of whom have spent much of their lives on Torre alle Tolfe.

The Organic Wines of Torre alle Tolfe: