Villa di Geggiano

Well placed among the hills outside the city walls east of Siena in the comune of Castelnuovo Berardenga on a pliocenic mix of clay, bioclastic limestones & sandstones, lies the fine 18th century Villa di Geggiano of the Boscu Bianchi Bandinelli family, in whose care the property has remained since 1527. The family’s wines were first exported (to the UK) in 1725, ironically, by Niccolò Bandinelli.

In 1959 Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli, a disciple of Marxist theory promoting land redistribution – il Conte Rosso? – donated much of the Villa’s land to the mezzadri (sharecroppers) who had been working their land. In 1995 Andrea & fratello Alessandro Boscu Bianchi Bandinelli began overseeing the vines which have been farmed organically since 2003. More recently the 5ha of Sangiovese, Ciliegiolo, Syrah, & Cabernet Sauvignon vyds are now managed by the latest generation of the family, Gregorio, who joined the family business in 2019, becoming sole proprietor in 2025.

In 2018 Gregorio spent much of the year in the Rhône, working at Vieux Telegraphe, during which time he visited the hill of Hermitage & was inspired to create his own super Sangiovese in vintage 2019 – ‘Ai Lecci’ – from a single east facing site. Meanwhile papa Andrea & zio Alessandro (the Marinaio!), aided by their life-long colleague Fulvio & consultant Sig. Vagaggini, continue to bottle their crunchy Toscana Rosso ‘Bandinello’, a Chianti Classico warmed by the addition of some Syrah, & in exceptional years a fulsome CC Riserva emboldened by Cabernet Sauvignon.

Enthused by the success of ‘Ai Lecci’ & of his formative experiences since 2019, Gregorio plans to raise the bar (of qualità) further by investing in the cantina, to bottle more single vineyard expressions of Sangiovese, & to seek more elevated vineyards as the climate changes. His preference is to minimize the time in wood (tonneaux or botte grande) by bottling early, giving the wine more time to harmonize pre-release.