By Lisa Lazzaretto IWA
What happens when one of Italy’s most historic wine families takes its most famous grape far from its traditional home and asks it to speak in a new voice?
The answer lies at the heart of Castello di Montepò, the Maremma estate of the Biondi Santi family. When speaking about the great names of Italian wine, the story of the Biondi Santi family inevitably comes to mind. For more than a century, their name has been inseparable from Brunello di Montalcino, one of Italy’s most iconic wines and a flagship of the country’s fine-wine identity.
Castello di Montepò
Yet wine history is never static. It evolves through generations, landscapes, and personal visions. What begins as tradition eventually becomes interpretation.
My recent visit to Castello di Montepò in southern Tuscany offered a fascinating insight into how one of Italy’s most historic wine families has reimagined its legacy in a completely different terroir. The experience also formed the background for my conversation with Tancredi Biondi Santi – the seventh generation of the family – on the Italian Wine Podcast.
Standing on the hilltop beneath the medieval castle, overlooking vineyards stretching toward the distant Tyrrhenian Sea, it quickly becomes clear that Montepò is not simply another Tuscan winery. It is a place where history, science, and curiosity meet.
A Family That Shaped Italian Wine
To understand Montepò, we must first return to the origins of the Biondi Santi legacy.
In the nineteenth century, Clemente Santi began experimenting with winemaking techniques that would later influence Brunello di Montalcino. His grandson Ferruccio Biondi Santi refined these ideas and made one of the most decisive contributions to Italian wine history.
Ferruccio worked on a particular type of Sangiovese, often referred to as Sangiovese Grosso, which became the genetic foundation of Brunello. The clone known as BBS11 is recognized for its structure, longevity, and ability to express terroir with remarkable clarity.
Jacopo and Tancredi Biondi Santi
At a time when most wines were consumed young, the Biondi Santi family pursued a radically different vision: wines capable of aging for decades. Bottles from the late nineteenth century still exist today, demonstrating the extraordinary longevity of Brunello. For generations, Tenuta Greppo in Montalcino represented the benchmark of Italian fine wine.
Yet every wine story eventually reaches a turning point.
In 2016 the historic Tenuta Greppo estate was sold to the French luxury group EPI, closing an important chapter of the family’s history in Montalcino. But the Biondi Santi story did not end there. In fact, another chapter had already begun decades earlier in the hills of Maremma.
Discovering Castello di Montepò
Castello di Montepò lies in southern Tuscany, in the heart of the Maremma region near Scansano. Historically, Maremma was considered a wild and marginal territory compared to the prestigious wine regions further north. For centuries much of the area consisted of marshland until big projects in the twentieth century transformed it into fertile agricultural land. Today Maremma has become one of Italy’s most dynamic wine regions.
The estate is centered around a medieval castle that has stood on this hill for nearly a millennium, quietly watching the landscape transform from rugged countryside into an emerging wine destination.
Castello di Montepò
Arriving at Montepò feels very different from visiting the more touristic areas of Tuscany. There is a sense of openness and authenticity. Vineyards are surrounded by olive groves, forests, and Mediterranean vegetation, forming a natural mosaic of landscape. During my visit, Tancredi described Montepò’s location in a way that perfectly captures its uniqueness. “It has the sea like Bolgheri,” he explained, “but it’s on the hills like Montalcino.”
The Tyrrhenian Sea lies only about fifteen kilometers away. This maritime influence moderates temperatures and brings cooling breezes, while the elevated hills provide ventilation and freshness. Equally important are the galestro soils, a mineral-rich schist typical of Tuscany. These soils drain easily and force vines to dig deep roots in search of water.
The BBS11 Clone in Maremma
One of the most fascinating aspects of Montepò is the continuation of the Biondi Santi scientific approach to Sangiovese.
As mentioned before, the BBS11 clone, originally selected by the Biondi Santi family, represents one of the most historically significant genetic selections of Sangiovese. At Montepò, this same clone was planted in an entirely different terroir.
The result is an extraordinary experiment: observing how the same grape, with the same genetic origin, behaves under different climatic and geological conditions. Sangiovese has specific needs in order to thrive.
“First of all,” Tancredi explained during our conversation, “it needs a dry climate. And second of all, it thrives on galestro soil.”
Galestro soil and the vineyards of the estate
Both conditions are perfectly present in Maremma. In this environment, the BBS11 clone produces wines that retain structure and freshness but also develop a broad aromatic profile.
A Different Expression of Sangiovese
Rather than trying to replicate Brunello outside its historic territory, Montepò explores how Sangiovese can express itself differently. Under the warmer sun of southern Tuscany, moderated by sea breezes, the grape develops complex aromatics while maintaining freshness and structure.
Among the estate’s flagship wines is Sassoalloro, a pure expression of Sangiovese grown in Maremma. The wine was designed to express the character of the BBS11 clone in a more approachable style, allowing it to be enjoyed earlier than traditionally long-aged Brunello. The name refers to golden rock formations found in the estate’s vineyards — a symbolic reference to the terroir.
A more structured interpretation is Sassoalloro Oro, produced from selected vineyards and aged longer to develop additional complexity and depth. Instead of heavy barrique aging, larger oak barrels are used to preserve the purity of Sangiovese.
Lisa Lazzaretto and Tancredi Biondi Santi
The estate also produces Morellino di Scansano, the traditional appellation wine of the region, offering a vibrant and gastronomic expression of Sangiovese.
Another distinctive wine is JéT Rosé, made from Sangiovese and vinified in white to highlight freshness and elegance in the maritime climate of Maremma.
A Burgundy Philosophy in Tuscany
One of the most intriguing aspects of Montepò is its vineyard philosophy. Inspired partly by Burgundy, the estate increasingly focuses on micro-parcels, producing 3 important crus, which usually get high ranking by wine critics.
Rather than blending grapes from large vineyard areas, each small plot is studied individually – analyzing soil composition, sun exposure, and microclimate. “We try to select the best micro-parcels,” Tancredi explained, “so that they can be shown as individual wines.”
These wines are what he calls terroir-driven wines — wines that express the unique personality of a single plot of land. Production is intentionally small, often around 2000 to 2200 bottles per parcel depending on the vintage.
The Supertuscan of Montepò
While Sangiovese remains the heart of the estate, Montepò also explores other varieties. Among the most iconic wines is Schidione, created by Jacopo Biondi Santi in the early 1990s.
Schidione represents the estate’s interpretation of Supertuscan. The wine blends Sangiovese with international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, producing a powerful and complex expression of Maremma. This wine illustrates an important principle at Montepò: tradition and innovation are not mutually exclusive.
Climate Change and Adaptation
From the hilltop, the landscape unfolds in a mosaic of vineyards, forests, olive groves, and Mediterranean vegetation. The biodiversity of the estate is striking. Rows of vines are surrounded by woodland areas and natural vegetation, creating an ecosystem that supports ecological balance.
Tancredi explained that the vineyards are managed as naturally as possible. There is no irrigation, forcing the vines to adapt to natural conditions and develop deeper root systems. In a warm region like Maremma, this philosophy requires careful vineyard management but ultimately produces grapes with greater concentration and character.
Like many Mediterranean wine regions, Maremma is increasingly affected by climate change. Rising temperatures and irregular weather patterns are changing the rhythm of the vineyard. However, Montepò benefits from natural advantages: hillside elevation, constant ventilation, and cooling breezes from the nearby sea.
The estate has also installed weather stations throughout its 53 hectares of vineyards, allowing the team to closely monitor conditions and react quickly when necessary.
Elon Musk’s New Home?
At one point, Castello di Montepò briefly entered the realm of global speculation.
Rumors circulated in Italian media suggesting that Elon Musk might have been interested in acquiring the estate. As often happens when historic properties and famous names intersect, the story quickly spread through wine circles and local press.
Nothing ever materialized, and the idea remained purely speculative. But the rumor added an unexpected layer of intrigue to Montepò’s story. It also highlights how estates like Montepò capture the imagination far beyond the wine world.
Final Thoughts
Talking with Tancredi made one thing very clear to me. Transformation in wine does not mean leaving the past behind. It means carrying it into a new place and letting it speak in a different way. At Montepò, the Biondi Santi legacy is not frozen in history. It is alive. It is evolving. And that is what makes this estate so interesting.
The place itself leaves a strong impression. The castle, the vineyards, and the hills of Maremma all feel part of a long story. Walking through Montepò feels like stepping into a medieval Tuscan tale. The Biondi Santi family carries this history naturally and authentically. The castle has stood here for centuries, and the family’s connection to wine goes back generations.
Yet the story is also very modern.
Tancredi Biondi Santi could easily be imagined as a modern Tuscan prince of this castle. But today his life is split between worlds. He is happily married and currently living in New York, while Montepò remains close to his heart.
Places like Montepò remind us that wine is never just about what is in the glass.
It is about people, places, and stories that continue to evolve.
And here, in the hills of Maremma, the story of the Biondi Santi family is simply waiting for its next chapter to be written…
Listen to the Full Interview:
