Quaranta Altari
⏳ Drinking Window
2022 - 2035
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Classic Tuscan cantucci (almond biscotti) for dipping, matured cheeses such as Pecorino Toscano, and rustic fruit tarts or honey-based desserts.
✨ Technical Specifications
Frescobaldi's Quaranta Altari is a tribute to the ancient Tuscan tradition of Vin Santo, the legendary 'Holy Wine' deeply woven into the region's cultural and spiritual history. The name 'Quaranta Altari' (Forty Altars) evokes the historical connection between this sweet elixir and its sacred use in chapel services across the historic estates of the Frescobaldi family, who have championed Tuscan viticulture for over thirty generations. Crafted primarily from classic white varieties Trebbiano Toscano and Malvasia Bianca, the grapes undergo a traditional 'appassimento' process, drying naturally on straw mats to concentrate their sugars and aromatic complexity. The must is then slowly fermented and matured over several years in 'caratelli'—small, traditional wooden casks stored in the estate's warm lofts—resulting in a luscious, amber-hued dessert wine rich with notes of dried apricot, honey, toasted hazelnut, and warm spice.
🍾 About the Producer
Tracing its viticultural origins to 1308, Marchesi Frescobaldi is an iconic Florentine noble dynasty that has shaped Tuscan winemaking across thirty generations. Spanning celebrated historical holdings—including Castello Nipozzano in Chianti Rùfina, Castello Pomino, Tenuta Castiglioni, CastelGiocondo in Montalcino, and the social viticulture initiative on the penal island of Gorgona—the family stewards diverse terroirs ranging from galestro-rich hills to cool-climate Apennine elevations. Frescobaldi practices certified sustainable viticulture under Tuscany's AgriQualità protocol, tailoring canopy management and soil stewardship to site-specific conditions. In the cellar, their philosophy honors regional typicity while embracing technical precision, vinifying with calibrated temperature control and aging across fine-grained oak barriques and traditional casks. The portfolio showcases an expansive spectrum of expressions: high-elevation Chardonnay and Pinot Nero in the pioneering Pomino Benefizio Riserva and Leonia Brut sparkling wines, mineral-driven Ansonica-Vermentino field blends from Gorgona, alongside age-worthy, structured Sangiovese icons such as Nipozzano Riserva and CastelGiocondo Brunello di Montalcino.