The first information we have on Scopeto, as a fortified rural settlement, dates back to the beginning of the year 1000, when the estate and surrounding agricultural land belonged to the episcopacy of Sienna.

The name Scopeto almost certainly comes from the presence in the woods of Erica scoparia, a shrub used to make brooms and besoms.

The square stone tower, used as a defensive watch tower, dates back to 1200 and originally it stood alongside other fortified structures.

In the early fourteenth century, the Sozzini family, an old and illustrious Siennese dinasty, obtained the property from the Church, and it remained in their possession for more than five centuries without interruption.

Under the new owners, the farm became a flourishing agricultural centre and was soon converted to vine-growing for wine and, at the same time, it became a meeting-place for humanists, artists and writers. The Sozzini family was interested in theological studies, gave hospitality to dissident men of religion and for a long period even had to counter accusations of heresy by the curia of Sienna.

The property grew in size and importance. The fortified buildings gave way to a large country-seat, to which were added the farmers? and peasants? dwellings, forming the structural lay-out we have today.

The Sozzini family, which kept the property until the mid-nineteenth century, developed a wine production of a certain importance but only in more recent times did Borgo Scopeto improve the quality and begin to bottle its own wines. It was with the 1990 vintage that a Chianti Classico with the ?Borgo Scopeto? label first appeared on the market.

COMPANY

Borgo Scopeto is an estate covering an area of 503 hectares (1243 acres), located in the Siennese commune of Castelnuovo Berardenga, at an altitude of between 350 and 420 metres (1,148 and 1,377 feet) above sea level, prevalently on clayey-marly rocks, with arenaceous elements bonded with limestone.

Some 67 hectares (166 acres) of the estate are currently planted with vines, olive trees cover 50 hectares (123 acres). The buildings of the ?Borgo? and other rural constructions cover a surface area of 6 hectares whilst the remaining 350 hectares are woodland.

The most interesting part of the ?Borgo?, comprising noble residences with elegant gardens and numerous buildings once used for crafts and rural work, dates back to the Middle Ages and also boasts a wealth of architectural and artistic testimony from various later periods.

All the buildings forming the old town centre of the Village have been completely restored with a careful conservative restoration work re-using vintage materials carried out by specialists. All the most important constructions are destined to accommodate a high-quality level hotel structure - the Relais - inserted in the environmental context without changing its original architectural value and special atmosphere.

The area of vineyard of Borgo Scopeto consists of 70 hectares, 40 of which is Chianti Classico with various clones of Sangiovese.

We also have other vines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Merlot. The yield per hectare is approximately 50/60 Quintals.

The vineyards of Borgo Scopeto lie at an altitude of between 360 and 420 meters above sea level with a South to South - West exposure.

The soil is typical of the Chianti classico region ; sandy, shingly, stony and like clay.

Of the different vines present on the Estate The Misciano Vineyard merits attention; it lies in fact at more than 400 meters above sea level with a South to South-East exposure.

The vines that lie on the Stony, Clay soil are mainly Sangiovese (90%), Syrah and Canaiolo (10%). The Sangiovese of the Vigna Misciano, due to it?s particularity is used to produce our ?Cru? (Single Vineyard): Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna Misciano.

Borgo Scopeto lies on land ideal for producing high-quality wines. Alongside this natural predisposition is a philosophy aiming to produce wines where the personality of the grapes and the features of the soil on which they are grown prevail.

Thus, more modern and international wines, such as Borgonero, are produced in addition to the typical production of Chianti Classico.

The wine cellar of Borgo Scopeto renewed and enlarged over the last few years, is equipped with the most modern technology for vinification.

The cellar is composed of 50 stainless steal tanks with capacities that ranges from 11 to 260 hectolitres, for a total of 7000 hectolitres.

The refining of our wines takes place in Slovenian Oak barrels of 30/50 hectolitres and French Oak Barriques of 300 litres.

Each refining area has an automatic temperature system and an air humidifier which keeps the room at a constant level of humidity all year round.

Borgo Scopeto is also equipped with a modern bottling line with the most up-to date technology enabling us to guarantee the maximum security where hygiene is concerned, which allows us to maintain a constant level of quality from the start until the finish of the bottling process.

After the product has been bottled it will remain for a varied period of time, depending on the typology of the wine, in a thermo-regulated room, in a horizontal position until the refining process is finished and the product is released on the market.

The Harvest

The harvest usually starts during the third week of September.

The grapes are hand picked, and then carried to the cellar in special plastic crates and from here onwards the transformation begins; the grapes are pressed using a soft wine press to obtain the must that is then transferred into the stainless steel tanks where the fermentation begins.

The fermentation usually takes about 7 ? 10 days for the Chianti Classico and up to 15 days for the wines destined to be a ?Riserva? and for our ?Cru? (Single vineyard).

During this period various ?pump overs? allowing the must to come in contact with air take place in order to favour the activation and multiplication of the yeasts, other ?pump overs? are then carried out without oxygen at various intervals along with ?Delestages? , a technique which favours the extraction of tannins and colour and permits the breaking of the film of dregs which form during the fermentation.

Once the transformation of sugar in alcohol and the maceration is completed, the free run, or the separation of the liquid from the solid particles of grape skin and dregs, takes place.

The last phase of pressing, using a modern press extracts the residual liquid left. The dregs left after this pressing are then sent immediately to the distillery in order for them to be used to produce our grappa.

The fast run obtained is then maintained at a constant temperature of around 25?c in order to facilitate the malolactic fermentation, or rather the transformation of malic acid into lactic acid.

After this the wine is decanted several times, where the solid particles precipitate through a natural decantation. Immediately after this phase the wine is transferred into the barrels or barrique depending on the typology of wine.

During all the above mentioned phases the wine maker and all the technical staff monitor the evolution of the various typologies of wine on a day to day basis consequently ensuring high quality products.