Biography
The Tenute Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari was born from the scission in the Ruffino winery when, in the year 2000, Ambrogio Folonari and his son Giovanni, decided to concentrate on high level wine, creating a collection of well located viticultural properties, particularly in Tuscany, which produce fine wine. The Folonari family has operated in the sector of wine since the 18th century and has contributed, over the years, to the writing of important chapters in the history of Italian, particularly Tuscan, wine. The purchase of Ruffino by the grandfather of Ambrogio Folonari, Italo Folonari, goes back to 1912; though originally from Brescia, the Folonari thus began a century of entrepreneurial activity on Tuscan soil. The current operation owns Nozzole, acquired in 1971, and Cabreo, both in Greve in Chianti, Torcalvano at Montepulciano, La Fuga in Montalcino, and other properties as well: Ronco dei Folo in the Colli Orientali del Friuli appellation, Campo al Mare in Bolgheri, Tenuta Conti Spalletti at Rufina, and the Tenuta Vigne a Porrona in the promising Montecucco DOC. The labels bear the trademark of the single estates which supply the grapes for the wines, a guarantee of the origin of the various offerings. Creativity, innovation, and a precise respect for the traditions of the various territories are the core principles of the company’s work in directing these very different properties. The two wines with the greatest tradition are unquestionably Pareto di Nozzole and Cabreo il Borgo: the former is a sumptuous Cabernet of great complexity and elegance, the second a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet, one of the original Super Tuscan wines. Pareto, produced with a lengthy 16-18 month aging in small oak barrels and a further six month period of bottle aging, austere and concentrated but, at the same time, suave and supple, is an ideal match for the great dishes of the Tuscan kitchen, roasts and game. Cabreo, instead, is a noble synthesis of the typical elegance of the most rigorously selected clones of Chianti Classico Sangiovese, and the power of Cabernet Sauvignon which, at the Zano estate near Greve in Chianti, expresses its varietal character at maximum levels.