Ferruccio Ferragamo, son of the late and undoubtedly great Salvatore Ferragamo, founder of the Italian fashion dynasty which bears his name, is a man who likes to hunt. And he knows a good piece of earth when he sees one.
Back in the Ferragamo family started renting a Tuscan holding owned by another famous Italian the Duke D’Aosta. There were vines here, Sangiovese of course as it is after all the region’s flagship grape. Initially though, it was the pheasant and other attractive game that appealed to Mr. Ferragamo, although the wine would eventually enter into the picture some years down the line.
We certainly have the thrill of the chase to thank for the quality of the terroir, untouched by chemicals and preserved by some of the most prestigious Italian families over the centuries, including household names such as Savoia and Medici, determining clans in the Italian Renaissance of Florence and Tuscany.
When the Ferragamos bought the property in the early 90s, along with the help of prominent oenologist Nicolo Battisi, they studied the soil and came to the conclusion it was in fact a terroir similar in composition to Bordeaux. There was room for so much more than Sangiovese. And as such, Il Borro wines were born.
Along with Niccolo Battisti, the vineyard now boasts the likes of Luca Martini, the winner of the prestigious national title Migliore Sommelier d’Italia 2009 (the best Italian sommelier, no less), as their wine consultant. At the young age of thirty, he is a Tuscan phenomenon and a force of nature to be reckoned with, and above all, despite his prestige and many, many awards, is nice and down to earth. Then there is Davide, the winemaker, also a local find, although he has cultivated wines for nearly five years in New Zealand, only to return to his roots, literally and figuratively.
Davide was open with me about wine production at Il Borro from day one, explaining the vineyard’s winemaking strategy and patient with all of my ‘beginner’s mind’ questions. I haven’t asked his age, but he is also quite young. It just goes to show that Il Borro believes in talent before age, and knows talent when it sees it.
One could imagine that a family as famous and wealthy as the Ferragamos would employ an array of personal assistants and caretakers to run their affairs, and simply cruise around the world at press conferences and cocktail functions. Not this down to earth, Florentine clan. The son of Ferruccio Ferragamo, Salvatore, who shares his grandfather’s name, is at the estate day in and day out, along with his three beautiful hunting dogs, and sometimes accompanied by one or more of his three children.
I was briefly introduced to Salvatore in my first week, and while he had a natural elegance about him, due in part to good looks and classic attire, there was also something quite grounded and soft-spoken in his tone, which gave me the impression that his upbringing placed family values ahead of money and class.
For some, the pairing of a posh fashion house with a farm-style retreat may seem incongruous, but the match is decidedly made in heaven. Tuscan heaven, to be precise. In their corner of paradise, the Ferragamo family has managed to create a bucolic and luxurious space that not only attracts guests from all over the world, but a staff that is genuine and sincere. As an intern, I was made to feel at home instantly, from shared lunches at the Osteria to social invitations on my very first weekend there. There is nothing I wouldn't recommend about the place, to be unabashed and slightly gushy. But hey, first impressions count more than a million second chances, and at Il Borro they had me at 'Ciao'.
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