History

120 years of tradition

The villa and surrounding grounds were purchased in 1895 by Giuseppe Nieri, who made the decision to invest in real estate and agriculture the important profits realized in leather trade. The second generation , with Mario Nieri, continued the work his father started. In the 40’s, the casks previously used for the fermentation of the grapes were replaced by glass-lined cement tanks. Bottling of Montellori’s wine under its own name and label occurred during the 1950’s.

Continuing Expansion

The greatest impulse to Montellori’s development occurred under the leadership of Giuseppe Nieri (b.1929-d.1998). Vineyard acreage increased to its current level of 55 hectares. Renewal of the cellar equipment went forward introducing temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Small oak barriques began to appear in the Montellori cellars during the 1980’s, aiding in the creation of wines of larger complexity and greater finesse.
Giuseppe Nieri had a particular passion for white wine, and in addition to the well known grape varieties such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon, he started a major program of experimentation with lesser known, but most interesting, varieties such as Viognier. This variety now belongs to the blends of the white of the house: the Mandorlo. A similar program with red grape varieties led to the planting, in areas whose suitability had been carefully calculated and studied in advance, of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah. These too have entered into the estate’s blends, supplementing but never supplanting, Sangiovese grape, in which Montellori firmly believes and that finds its best expression in one of the cru of the house: the Dicatum.

Consolidation and Renewal

The decade 1985-1995 has been for Montellori, like for other producers aiming for quality in Tuscany, an exciting period marked by curiosity, constant experimentation, creative impulse and great discoveries. The second part of the 1990’s, instead, has become a period of reflexion, and, above all, a period for drawing conclusions. Under the leadership of Alessandro Nieri (who has assumed the task of directing Montellori in 1998, after a long time of responsibility shared with the father) the study assimilated during the previous decade has been fully developed. The product line has been reorganized with the purpose of producing wines that can demonstrate the viticultural and oenological ability and the new comprehension of the characteristics and potentialities of each vineyard. There is a new consciousness of what a vineyard can express and of what can be obtained with hard and professional work. This is the knowledge of one’s own terroir.

In 2015, Fattoria Montellori celebrates the 120th anniversary of the family winery, 4 generations of wine makers sharing the same passion : producing true personality wines which express both the family’s working philosophy and the specific character of the terroir.