Castello Banfi: producer profile plus 14 wines tasted

Castello Banfi is Montalcino’s largest wine estate by far, occupying 2,870 hectares on the slopes a few kilometres to the south and southwest of the town, located in the province of Siena in Tuscany.

Banfi claims the largest contiguous vineyard in Europe: approximately 950ha of vines form a sprawling web of adjoined vineyards. The remaining two-thirds of the estate are made up of olive groves, wheat fields, plum trees, truffle stands, woodland and scrub.

See the tasting notes and scores for 14 top Banfi wines

At the heart of it all, at 280 metres, lies the ancient castle of Poggio Alle Mura. Ravaged by time – and particularly World War II – the castle was in need of repair and so, when the prestigious Poggio Alle Mura estate vineyards and castle were acquired by Banfi in 1983, the Mariani family immediately set about restoring it to its former glory.

Nowadays, the castle itself houses a glass museum and balsameria, while in its shadow you will find a hotel, two restaurants (including the one-Michelin-starred La Sala dei Grappoli) and an enoteca.

Banfi factbox:

Founded: 1978

Production: approximately 10 million bottles annually

Key wines: Poggio Alle Mura Brunello di Montalcino Riserva; Brunello di Montalcino; Cuvée Aurora Alta Langa; Summus Toscana

Banfi Vintners was founded by Giovanni F. Mariani Sr in New York in 1919, naming it after his mother’s family name. Prohibition came into effect the following year but the company survived by importing Italian delicacies and producing medicinal bitters. As soon as the repeal was announced, Mariani began seeking out new agencies, and Banfi Vintners soon became a successful wine importer specialising in Italian, German and French wines.

In 1963 Mariani handed the company over to his two sons, John Jr. and Harry, who had joined the company several years earlier. His daughter Joan had also worked for the company in the 1950s, until she married.

Banfi Vintners shot to success in 1969 thanks to the popularity of Riunite Lambrusco, which the company introduced to the USA.

The company was pivotal in introducing American consumers to ‘new’ Italian wines. It already imported Castello Poggio Alle Mura’s wines (the estate it would later acquire in 1983), one of the very few in Montalcino that produced enough volume to export, and in 1978 John Jr. and Harry founded the Castello Banfi estate in Montalcino. A year later, they also acquired the 50ha Bruzzone estate in Strevi, Piedmont.

Banfi is now headed by cousins Cristina Mariani-May (John’s daughter) and James Mariani (Harry’s son), the third generation of the family.

The company today has holdings not only in Montalcino and Piedmont, but also in Bolgheri, Maremma and Chianti Classico, enabling it to produce a representative slice of Tuscan – and Piedmontese – oeno culture. Its wines are now exported to over 90 countries around the world.

The Banfi projects

Castello Banfi’s success brought opportunities to experiment, and so it began a series of groundbreaking studies and projects. The first, initiated in the 1980s, was to research the 650 or so Sangiovese clones found in the surrounding area, with the aim of identifying the best clones to be used for future replanting. This proved to be a laborious but rewarding project which continued through the 1990s and into the 2000s.

Banfi also turned its attention to the vessels used for ageing its wines. Timbers from the forests of Allier, Nevers, Fontainebleau and Tronçais in France were identified as the ideal oak for Banfi’s barriques, while Slavonian oak would continue to be used for larger barrels.

Cut into staves, the wood is stacked outside for three years (rather than the traditional two years) in a heptagonal structure to allow for even weathering, before undergoing a slow, light toasting process. Banfi specifies a custom size for its barriques of 350l rather than the typical 225l, constraining the influence of the wood by reducing the percentage of wine in contact with its surface area.

‘After carefully studying the soils of our estate, researching the best local clones of Sangiovese to match with those soils, and then studying different woods and barrel types, we are able to highlight the optimal expression of Sangiovese. What we needed was to find a fermentation process that could further build on these strengths,’ said Mariani-May in a previous interview with Decanter.

This fermentation process was an initiative instigated by Mariani-May, dubbed Horizon – a vinification centre within the winery to handle some of Banfi’s finest wines.

The hand-picked grapes are sorted both in the vineyard and then on sorting tables in the winery, before being placed into unique composite fermenting vessels. A combination of stainless steel base and head, and a central band of replaceable oak staves, these vessels enable the best of both worlds for Banfi: the temperature control and fresh flavours of stainless steel, and the aeration and rounded character of oak.

This is intended to produce softer, less astringent wines, ensuring they are more accessible early in their lifespan – perfect for appealing to Banfi’s export markets. Twenty-four of these vessels came on-stream in 2007 after seven years of trials, and are used for fermenting several of the estate’s wines, including its Brunellos.

Innovation

In 1995, Banfi introduced the first SuperTuscan from Montalcino, Summus, a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.

In 2001 Banfi took part in a project to resurrect the ‘forgotten’ grape, Alberossa, and along with three other wineries succeeded in getting it added it to the list of permitted varieties under the Monferrato DOC regulations. This resulted in the rare varietal Alberossa, La Lus, released in 2006, which has proven a surprising hit with consumers.

Banfi has been innovating since its earliest days. It’s testament to its continual drive for quality that, despite its size, it is willing to undergo such projects.

Tasting notes and scores for the range of Banfi wines:

You may also like:

Brunello di Montalcino 2004: a retrospective

Rosso di Montalcino: Brunello’s charming little brother

Chianti Classico: a glowing future plus 12 must-try wines