The Italian winery is located in the north-east of the Chianti Classico area, seven kilometres from the municipality of Greve, amidst hills. The Castello was once built as a watchtower on the Via Cassia Imperiale, built under Emperor Hadrian (76-138) in 123 to defend the surrounding area. It was built in the 16th century after the previous building was destroyed during one of the numerous local wars. A member of the Canigiani family, the owners at the time, began the reconstruction. It was then acquired by the Pitti family, who kept it for a long time and used it as a country residence.
In 1897 the property was acquired by Carlo François, whose family had immigrated to Tuscany from France in the 18th century. He converted the property into an agricultural business and started to cultivate vines for the first time. In 1924 the farm was one of the 30 founding members of the Consorzio del Vino Chianti Classico (see under Gallo nero). In the cellars of the winery numerous old vintages from the beginning of the 20th century are kept. One of the most outstanding wines was a Chianti Classico vintage from 1904, which was designated a century wine. In 1978 Carlos' grandson Alessandro took over the responsibility and initiated extensive rationalisation measures to increase productivity.
Today, the estate comprises some 190 hectares of land, of which 60 hectares are under vines, five hectares are olive groves and the rest is covered by oak and chestnut forests. The vineyards and olive groves extend along the slopes of the valley at altitudes between 400 and 530 metres above sea level. The vineyards are distributed among 22 different types of vines. They are planted with the red wine varieties Sangiovese, Canaiolo Nero, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Colorino del Valdarno, Merlot, Mammolo, Ciliegiolo and Malvasia Nera di Brindisi, and with the white wine varieties Malvasia del Chianti(Malvasia Bianca Lunga), Trebbiano Toscano and Chardonnay. The cultivation is carried out according to ecological principles with organic fertilizers and mild pesticides.
The selective vintage is always done by hand in several stages. The air-conditioned storage cellar is equipped with stainless steel and glass cement tanks with a total capacity of around 3,500 hectolitres. The cellar rooms have a storage capacity of around 1,500 hectolitres and contain barrique barrels of French Allier, Tronçais and Limousin oak. Olive oil is also produced.
