The origins
Carobbio was founded in the fifteenth century, owned by the Magaldi, a family of Florentine merchants. Subsequently it became the property of the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital. In 1479 Carobbio was entrusted to Antonmaria Gherardini, the father of Lisa, the famous Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. Antonmaria often went to Carobbio and presumably Lisa herself also stayed there for some time.
At the beginning of the sixteenth century the farm returned to the hands of the hospital which still granted it to sharecropping. At the end of the eighteenth century, the history of Carobbio became more complicated: with the end of sharecropping and the abandonment of the countryside, the farm went into decline. When it was purchased by Carlo Novarese in 1985 Carobbio was a farmhouse transformed into a refined residential home. From then on the rebirth began.
Carlo Novarese
It was the summer of 1985 when Carlo Novarese, near Tenuta Carobbio, in the heart of Chianti Classico, was certain that he had found a small corner of Paradise.
A promised land of everlasting splendor, if the talent of the place is awakened. Thus began the rebirth of Carobbio.
Carlo Novarese provides the foresight of an entrepreneur and the desire for excellence, which distinguish his history as an industrialist, for the benefit of the Estate.
Agricultural experts get to work: drastic interventions begin on the vineyards to support a high quality strategy for the grapes and wines.
New plants are created according to the principles of the most advanced viticultural trends.
The results repay the commitment: a selection of wines of unmatched quality, from Chianti Classico to Super Tuscans.
Today, the Novarese family, owners of Carobbio, continues with passion and enthusiasm the project started by Carlo Novarese in the 1980s.
In the last decade, in fact, the estate has experienced an expansion of the vineyard area, which has led to the creation of new wines, between tradition and innovation.
The splendor of a natural treasure chest
Located in the Conca d'Oro of Panzano in Chianti, halfway between Florence and Siena, in the center of a natural amphitheater, Carobbio extends for approximately fifty hectares, among ancient vineyards, olive groves and lush woods. A privileged geographical position, embraced by the hills and protected by the mountains. A natural cradle, which absorbs and retains the heat of the afternoon sun for the benefit of quality production. The altitude of the Conca - between 350 and 450 meters - brings with it a notable temperature range between day and night, essential for obtaining wines with intense and elegant aromas. The nature of the soil is further confirmation of the wine-growing vocation of the area. Alberese and marl alternate producing elegance and aromatic finesse.
The Vineyards
The excellence of a Carobbio wine is the result of a rigorous project, in which each vineyard has a specific role, each step is the subject of meticulous care, each action is a precise choice. We cultivate the land according to the most advanced viticultural trends. Mostly high density vineyards intended for the production of a few bunches per plant. We harvest with care, trying to enhance what the vineyard expresses. Every summer we thin out the bunches, to ensure the full maturation of the grapes. The harvest, strictly manual, allows only the best fruits to be harvested.
The Method
We work in the cellar, meticulously controlling the fermentation and aging processes, which allow the creation of modern wines in which great freshness and olfactory richness counterbalance structure and power. The must ferments at a controlled temperature and the maceration is prolonged: this allows us to obtain wines of great aromatic intensity, elegant and long-lived.
The Cellar
Our wines are expertly aged in Slavonian oak barrels and, depending on the type, in French oak barriques. The duration of refinement is determined by the oenological objective and the vintage.