Ghiaccio Forte

Scansano is an ancient city found in Tuscany’s coastal Maremma region. This little-known corner of Tuscany is one of the few areas left in the region which is still untamed. Few towns and settlements mean that the flora and fauna are left to grow wildly and here, and Sangiovese (or Morellino as it is locally known), known for its many styles within Tuscany, takes on a truly unique personality: spicier, fuller, riper, fresher.

Ghiaccio Forte is the small winery owned by the Chia family (also owners of our beloved Castello Romitorio in Montalcino) just outside of the town of Scanscano, taking its name from the ancient ‘Ice Fort’, ruins for which can be found just 1km down the road. From their 12 hectares of organically farmed vineyards, Ghiaccio Forte produces a Morellino di Scansano wine that sings of the Tuscan sun and taming the wild nature of this beautiful region just enough for an encapsulating wine. The winery has been in the Chia family since the 1990s and, although the appellation stipulated only 85% Sangiovese is needed in the wine, Ghiaccio Forte produce a wine using 100% of Tuscany’s own red grape.

Protected from frost by the Meditteranean sea, warmed by the reliable Tuscan sun, and cooled by the coastal breezes, the vineyards in this untouched corner of central Italy are a special place for red wine production. Think baked cherries, wild herbs, drying rocks on a summer’s day and liquorice and gentian spices. Only in the hands of people who respect, care for, and work with a land as wild as this can a wine express its fiery roots in an elegant and balanced way.