Podere le Ripi was born in Montalcino in 1984 from a first love of Francesco Illy who bought the farm from a Sardinian shepherd near Castelnuovo dell'Abate, on the eastern side of Montalcino. It was the love that only a nature photographer can have towards such an intense landscape. In 1999 he began his adventure in viticulture with the first plants and since 2011 he has been moving towards a biodynamic conversion. Today the estate has about 31 hectares of vineyards divided between the two Montalcino slopes, one to the west with sandy alluvial soils rich in skeleton and the other to the east on calcareous marl without skeleton; this is how the five different company wines originate, each coming from individual plots, different in terroir and density. It starts with plants of 6,000 vines/ha, up to the saplings of Lupi and Sirene of 11,100 vines/ha and the Bonsai vineyard of 62,500 vines/ha (the densest vineyard in the world). All the wines undergo a slow and delicate accompaniment in the cellar, where large vats and barrels of fine woods are used both for fermentation and for refinement (from 24 to 36 months depending on the wines) and then end with a harmonization in cement; this entire process has the objective of enhancing the classic nature of Sangiovese in Montalcino and the different facets of the vineyards. Deep roots, vines in full dialogue with their surroundings and the right patience during aging are the fundamental requirements to capture those uniqueness that only Mother Nature can create.

Podere le Ripi was born in Montalcino in 1984 from a first love of Francesco Illy who bought the farm from a Sardinian shepherd near Castelnuovo dell'Abate, on the eastern side of Montalcino. It was the love that only a nature photographer can have towards such an intense landscape. In 1999 he began his adventure in viticulture with the first plants and since 2011 he has been moving towards a biodynamic conversion. Today the estate has about 31 hectares of vineyards divided between the two Montalcino slopes, one to the west with sandy alluvial soils rich in skeleton and the other to the east on calcareous marl without skeleton; this is how the five different company wines originate, each coming from individual plots, different in terroir and density. It starts with plants of 6,000 vines/ha, up to the saplings of Lupi and Sirene of 11,100 vines/ha and the Bonsai vineyard of 62,500 vines/ha (the densest vineyard in the world). All the wines undergo a slow and delicate accompaniment in the cellar, where large vats and barrels of fine woods are used both for fermentation and for refinement (from 24 to 36 months depending on the wines) and then end with a harmonization in cement; this entire process has the objective of enhancing the classic nature of Sangiovese in Montalcino and the different facets of the vineyards. Deep roots, vines in full dialogue with their surroundings and the right patience during aging are the fundamental requirements to capture those uniqueness that only Mother Nature can create.