Istine
| Region | Toscana (Italia) |
|---|---|
| Foundation Year | 1982 |
| Vineyard hectares | 24 |
| Annual production | 90.000 bt |
| Address | Istine, Località Istine 28 - 53017 Radda in Chianti (SI) |
Although the official birth of the Tuscan Istine estate is quite recent, the roots of the Fronti family are firmly rooted in Chianti Classico territory. The winery is located in the southern part of the Radda in Chianti area, on the border with Gaiole, where in 1959 Bruno Fronti started an agricultural service business, Agrichianti. Instead, in 1982 the family purchased the first land for planting vineyards, for many years directed to the production of wine for bulk sale or for self-consumption, while in 2009 came the turning point with the first vintage bottled under its own label. Today ownership and management are firmly in the hands of the Fronti family, with Angela in charge of the winemaking side and Fabio engaged in the agronomic aspect.
The Istine winery can count on 24 hectares of vineyards, distributed among several plots located both in the municipalities of Radda in Chianti and Gaiole, conducted under a certified organic regime. The heterogeneity of the plots allows the Fronti family to have grapes with distinct characteristics, thus being able to enhance the specific attributes of each vineyard. In general, altitudes are high, about 500 meters above sea level, and a rocky matrix prevails in the soils with abundant presence of marl and limestone. Sangiovese is the main variety on the estate, which is also devoted to a lesser extent to the cultivation of other native grape varieties such as Malvasia del Chianti and Trebbiano Toscano, as well as international grapes such as Merlot. The winemaking approach is traditional, with spontaneous fermentations in cement tanks, prolonged maceration on the skins and aging in large Slavonian oak barrels.
The Istine winery's production is based on pure Sangiovese, proposed in various guises in order to enhance the viticultural peculiarities of the vineyards from which the grapes come, such as Istine, Casanova and Cavorchione. The resulting Chianti Classico wines make elegance, freshness and mineral timbre their strong points, in combinations of rare finesse and harmony.