A love for Tuscany and a strong passion for wines led Claudio Tipa and his sister Maria Iris Bertarelli to Montecucco’s hills, where in 1999 they acquired and restored the ColleMassari castle, a fortress from the 13th century that was originally homestead of area nobility, along with its vineyards.
As discovered in Etruscan artifacts and Roman mosaics found around the ColleMassari estate, wine has been made here since very ancient times. Today the estate has a total surface of 1.200 hectares, of which 120 hectares are vineyards and nearly 90 hectares of olive groves (three trees are even more than 900 years old). Key single vineyards include the 50-years-old Sangiovese vines called Poggio Lombrone and in fact clones of this Sangiovese were planted subsequently at the winery to increase the vineyards; along with white Vermentino vines planted in 2000.