Magnum of Chianti Rufina, Villa di Vetrice 2019

The Grati family owns a magnificent hill of vines on the western side of the Rufina valley, just outside the town of Rufina, where part of the Grati cellars are located. The family has been producing wines here for five generations, but it is Gianfranco, along with his daughter, Cristiana, and his son, Gualberto, who are the current generations running the business.

The 560-hectare Grati estate is interspersed with cypress and olive trees in a fashion typical of the Chianti region – the family is also famous for the quality of its olive oil – but the vineyard plantings total 100 hectares in size. The majority of the vines are sangiovese, but the family also grows other traditional varieties like canaiolo, colorino and malvasia, as well as some merlot and cabernet sauvignon.

The Rufina valley, just north of Florence, makes sangiovese wines of real distinction, close in quality to those from the Classico district south of the city, but the style is slightly different as the vines are cooled by the breezes which come down the Sieve valley.

As well as Chianti, Grati also makes vin santo, a traditional Italian dessert wine. Grati wines represent great value which is why we chose this producer for The Society's Chianti Rufina.