Fattoria Ambra is an estate of 20 hectares spread over four of the most important crus of Carmignano. Giuseppe ‘Beppe’ Rigoli runs it, his family having owned it since the 19th century. Wine-making in the area goes back to antiquity, but it was Beppe’s father who revived it on the estate and planted new vineyards. Unfortunately, the wine was being sold in bulk at a loss, and his father was about to sell the property before he passed away in 1983. Beppe was determined to try and make a go of it, and he bottled the first vintage, 1983, by hand. Beppe and his wife Susan are both trained agronomists, and Beppe is a consulting enologist as well. Renowned since the 13th century for the quality of its wine, Carmignano is arguably one of the oldest protected appellations in the world, as Cosimo III de Medici established it by decree in 1716. Cabernet sauvignon was already being grown here, having been introduced by merchants during the reign of Catherine de Medici a couple centuries earlier. This wine comes entirely from the cru Santa Cristina in Pilli, where limestone (albarese) soils keep this sangiovese-dominant blend from becoming too heavy. Pair with steak, pasta all'amatriciana, ​or cicerchie with mushrooms.