The I BALZINI winery estate was founded in 1980, fruit of the passion of Vincenzo D’Isanto, accountant and sommelier since 1984, he was the person who planted the first vineyard and produced in the 1987 harvest: I BALZINI the first outstanding red wine.It was relesead in 1991.
Located in Barberino Val d’Elsa in rural Tuscany, across the border between the provinces of Florence and Siena. This area is rich in history and art, here was located the ancient Rocca di Semifonte which represented with Montegrossi, Gaiole in Chianti and S.Miniato al Tedesco (today S.Miniato) the Ghibellini’s outposts, safety centres for the German emperors of Svevia , against the Guelfa Florence. The Rocca of Semifonte was one of the last cities to contrast Florence, the story told that the soldiers drunk the wine of the area during the sieges.
The estate covers 10,40 hectares, 5,40 of which under wine; Merlot and Cabernet are sited in pliocene soils with yellow lands, loam and fossils; while Sangiovese is sited in ecocenica soils, originate from the disintegration of a local rock : Alberese.
The name I BALZINI derives from the small terraces (le balze, I balzini), on which the vineyards are planted.
The “I BALZINI” vineyard’s distinctiveness is due to its tufaceous soils and to its microclimate. The tuff gives to the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Merlot an ineffable softness, teasing out the fruity, voluptuous, and almost sweet qualities of these varieties so that they blend harmoniously into the Sangiovese’s more decisive character. The vineyard’s microclimate is perfect: sited on a hill at an height of 250 metres, wholly facing south, its rows are oriented north-south for receive the maximum sunlight the even distribution of the light on the rows, ensures optimal ripening of the fruit.