The family that gave Chianti its name back in the 14th century has entered the 21st with an array of wines they are proud to call, simply, Tuscan. In doing so the Mazzei family, which by marriage gained the Castello Fonterutoli estate in 1435, is part of a movement to expand the scope and style of Tuscan wines by declining to obey the strictures of the Denominazione di Controllata Garantita (DOCG) rules that state Chianti can only contain certain grapes and come from distinct, approved zones.
Thus, while Mazzei still makes wonderful Chianti Classicos under the Castello Fonterutoli label, its more modern wines carry the lowest denomination of Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT), which merely suggests the wine in the bottle is typical of the region. These wines, from Chianti zones, go by names like Badiola and Siepi, while newer wines from the Maremma region, also in Tuscany, carry names like Serrata, Tenuta Belguardo, and Bronzone. They are also now making a robust red wine called Zisola in Sicily from the nero d'avola grapes grown there.
``Our family dates back to the 11th century, so we are extremely devoted to Tuscan traditions,'' says Francesco Mazzei, 48, who with his brother Filippo and father Lapo, oversees all the wine production. ``The first recorded mention of the word `Chianti' was by our ancestor Ser Lapo Mazzei. Another Filippo was asked to plant vineyards at Monticello by Thomas Jefferson.''
Prestige
Such experience and legacy has long made the Fonterutoli label one of the most prestigious among Chianti producers. Over lunch at a New York trattoria, I was again impressed with how solid and how quintessential its basic Chianti Classico ($27) is, with the identifiable cherry flavors and smokiness of the aged sangiovese grape.
Its Castello di Fonterutoli 2005 is certainly worth the $60 price tag for its persuasive blend of sangiovese with the tannic backbone of cabernet sauvignon. And the Siepi ($107), which is an IGT wine, blends merlot in with the sangiovese to produce a big, warm wine with layers of flavor and very smooth tannins and toasty notes from being finished in small new French oak barrels. Its slightly higher alcohol content of 14.2 percent seems just about perfect for the body provided here. Here is one of those ``Super Tuscans'' that transcends the Chianti ideal with power and complexity.
Less Is More
``The old generation of Italians drank a lot more wine than we do today,'' says Mazzei, ``per capita, 120 liters in 1960 compared with 50 liters today. But most of their wine was in bottiglione'' -- jug-wine size bottles -- ``and now Italians are looking for more quality and are willing to pay for it.''
The IGT appellation was intended to satisfy producers like Fonterutoli, Antinori, Castello Banfi, Castello di Brolio and others who make Super Tuscans without their having to carry the lable ``vino da tavola'' (table wine). Mazzei's Belguardo estate in Maremma, nearer the sea, and its IGT wine labels feature a geometrical symbol by Leonardo da Vinci representing precision and perspective.
Serrata is a blend of sangiovese and alicante grapes; Tenuta Belguardo is even more unusual, with 90 percent cabernet sauvignon and 10 percent cabernet franc. Bronzone 2004 ($30) does have a Maremma DOC and is 100 percent sangiovese whose age has given it a charming sweet-dry balance and a good squeak of acid to keep it refreshing.
21st-Century Winner
The Sicilian experiment with nero d'avola began in 2002 with the purchase of a 50 hectare (124 acres) estate called Zisola, with 17 hectares (42 acres) of vineyards. The heat of Sicily would be rough on sangiovese and cabernet sauvignon, whereas the traditional nero d'avola has already proven itself on the international market as a 21st-century winner. The Mazzeis' Zisola label ($25) should do well, for the 2006 is already full of spice and pepper, with some of those southern Mediterranean floral notes that evoke the terroir of the vineyards in the southeast.
As someone who has criticized Italian producers for upping their prices before they had the quality and consistency, I admire the Mazzeis for being sensible about building a 21st- century reputation rooted in 24 generations of experience.
``We know the dollar is weak against the euro,'' says Mazzei, ``but we are very serious about the U.S. market and we're trying hard to hold the line on pricing.''
