Fattoria Ambra

BACKGROUND 

The history of Fattoria Ambra goes far back in time. At the end of the 1800s, the Romei Rigoli family purchased Tenuta del Poggiale, a historical estate of Carmignano.

Fattoria Ambra was established in 1890, after Tenuta del Poggiale was divided between the heirs of the Romei family.
Ludovica Romei, the mother of the present owners, named the property “Ambra” after the poem about the nymph Ambra written by Lorenzo de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany in the second half of the 15th century.

The estate has been managed by Beppe Rigoli, son of Ludovica and an agronomist specialised in oenology, since 1983. 1983 was his first vintage and some bottles still rest in the cellar and are still very good!  Beppe’s father, Lapo, planted 5 hectares of vineyards in the 1970s after which new vineyards were planted and some were contracted. The total vineyard extension is now 24 hectares. The average production, starting from 8,000 bottles of Carmignano Santa Cristina in Pilli 1983 , has now reached 80,000-90,000 bottles/year.
Beppe is supported by his wife Susan, also an agronomist, by the cellar master Fabio and more recently by his nephew Guido.

The Terroir

In Italy, the name of Carmignano has been synonymous with fine wine ever since the 13th century. So great was its reputation, that Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, decreed in 1716 that the appellation be strictly controlled. The borders have never changed, making Carmignano one of the smallest DOCG areas in Italy.

The Ambra vineyard is 24 hectares with four of the most important crus of Carmignano:

• Montalbiolo,

• Elzana,

• Santa Cristina in Pilli, and

• Montefiortini Podere Lombarda

THE CELLAR

The estate has always had the aim of expressing the character of the terroir of Carmignano, by separately vinifying and bottling the grapes grown in the  four crus of the property: Montalbiolo, Elzana, Santa Cristina in Pilli, and Montefortini-Podere Lombarda. The altitude, the composition of the soil and the exposure are different in the four crus, so that the harvest in the cru of Montefortini, where the grapes ripen earliest, takes place one month before the harvest in the cru of Elzana where the grapes ripen latest.

All this makes the identity and the characteristics of the four Carmignano produced very different the one from the other. Beppe has always tried to interpret the terroir of Carmignano by focussing on the indigenous grape varieties of Carmignano, mainly Sangiovese and Canaiolo. “Uva Francesca” (which means “French grapes”) is the name for Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon in Carmignano. This grape variety is compulsory in the blend of Carmignano and of Barco Reale (the young version of Carmignano). Only approximately 10% of Uva Francesca is included into the blend of all the wines of Fattoria Ambra. This variety can also be considered indigenous as it has been grown in the area of Carmignano since the times of the Medici family as it was probably brought from France after Caterina de’ Medici married Henry the II of France.   

THE WINE