Monteraponi
Deep in Radda in Chianti, where medieval towers still watch over a natural amphitheater of vineyards and ancient oak forest, sits a 200-hectare estate with a story of quiet devotion. Michele Braganti's father purchased the property in 1974, but for decades the family simply leased out the vineyards and sold off the grapes — the land's true potential left dormant. It wasn't until Michele revived the estate in the early 2000s, falling in love with Radda's singular ability to produce world-class Sangiovese, that Monteraponi truly came into its own.
Of the estate's two hundred hectares, only twelve are planted to vine — the rest given over to olive groves and towering chestnut and oak forest, a landscape that shapes every bottle as much as any cellar technique does. The vines climb from 420 meters up to 570 meters, rooted in a mix of dense white limestone and friable clay schist that gives Radda's wines their signature lift.
Braganti farms organically and works almost exclusively with Sangiovese, chasing a singular ambition: to make a Chianti Classico that would be instantly recognizable as coming from Radda, whether poured in New York or Sydney. His father doubted the estate could ever turn a profit — Michele spent years proving him wrong, repaying the debts and building Monteraponi into one of the region's most respected names.
The result is wine that resists excess. As Braganti puts it, from this soil you simply can't make wines heavy with color, alcohol, or brute structure — only wines of precision, restraint, and unmistakable sense of place.