Tenuta San Giorgio

The San Giorgio estate vineyards are essentially a continuation of the coveted Poggio di Sotto site in Castelnuovo dell'Abate. As such, the Sangiovese Grosso cultivated here benefits from the same climatic conditions, soils, and exposures as its world-renowned sibling. As part of the Collemassari Group of estates, San Giorgio's vines are now managed and vinified by the same world-class winemaking team of Tuscan icons, Poggio di Sotto and Grattamacco.

When speaking of Montalcino's unique vineyard sites, Tenuta San Giorgio is one of the wineries that outshines its high-ranking competitors. The winery is located on the slopes of Monte Amiata in Castelnuovo dell'Abate, southeast of Montalcino and just a few kilometers from the thousand-year-old Sant'Antimo Abbey. These gently sunny hills of the Orcia Valley are considered one of the most important areas for the production of great Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino wines.

San Giorgio was founded two years after the introduction of the DOCG appellation of Brunello di Montalcino in 1980 from the original estate of the Ciacci Piccolomini family. The Tipa-Bertarelli family finally absorbed the Tenuta in November 2016, after several changes of ownership, into the ColleMassari Group, which includes the neighboring Poggio di Sotto winery. Since then, particular attention has been paid to the preservation of the 20-36 year old vines and to organic-sustainable viticulture.

The cultivated area covers 146 hectares of land, of which 25 hectares are planted only with Sangiovese. These southeast-facing vines tend to climb steep, rocky slopes with a subsoil of gravel and clay at an elevation of 250 meters, while at 450 meters they grow on predominantly sandy loam. A Mediterranean dry breeze in the west and the emerging temperature variations between day and night ensure that the demanding Sangiovese Grosso can reach ideal grape ripeness.

The winery produces only two labels whose names are deeply rooted in the history of the production area: The Brunello di Montalcino named "Ugolforte" is dedicated to a local hero who led the fight for freedom of the citizens of Siena against the conquest of the Sicilian kingdom in the 12th century. The range is completed by the Rosso di Montalcino "Ciampoleto", whose name, on the other hand, recalls the term "Ciampolo", which in the local dialect denotes a land particularly suitable for wine growing.

The production philosophy has been re-adapted to the traditional Brunello style under the direction of oenologist Luca Marrone. The barriques of the previous owner have therefore been replaced by large wooden barrels, which give rise to two velvety red wines. The wines enjoy great popularity, for example, Tenuta San Giorgio is the official supplier of the Papal Swiss Guard. So it is certainly no coincidence that San Giorgio has a justifiably special status within the Tuscan wine scene. SUPERIORE.DE

• Year of foundation: 1982
• Owner: Tipa-Bertarelli family
• Oenologists: Luca Marrone and Federico Staderini
• Annual production: approx. 60,000 bottles
• Vineyard: approx. 26 hectares
• Organic viticulture (not certified yet)

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