Italy · San Gimignano & Sienese Hills

ColleMassari Spa Società Agricola

A family-owned Tuscan wine group farming Sangiovese organically across Montecucco, Montalcino, and Bolgheri, with a gravity-fed hillside cellar at its centre and a Brunello estate that selects its three wine tiers from a single harvest.

The producer

ColleMassari is a Tuscan wine group built around four estates and three appellations. Siblings Claudio Tipa and Maria Iris Bertarelli own the group. The flagship estate, Castello ColleMassari, occupies 1,200 hectares south of Montalcino in the Maremma, within the Montecucco DOC, where Sangiovese grows on rocky hillside parcels and matures in large French and Slovenian oak vats inside a four-level cellar cut into the slope. The cellar runs entirely on gravity: fruit enters at the top and descends through fermentation and maturation without mechanical pumping at any stage.

The group's Bolgheri estate, Grattamacco, produces a Cabernet Sauvignon-led Superiore and a lighter Rosso from the Tyrrhenian coast. Its most closely watched property is Poggio di Sotto, a 48-hectare farm in Castelnuovo dell'Abate in the southernmost corner of the Brunello di Montalcino zone, where 20 hectares of Sangiovese grow from 190 to 440 metres on steep ridges beneath Mount Amiata. All four estates farm organically.

Known for

Organic Sangiovese across Montecucco and Montalcino, with a Brunello estate in Castelnuovo dell'Abate that maintains more than 182 distinct Sangiovese biotypes; Cabernet-led Bolgheri Superiore from Grattamacco.

Notable facts

The story

The 182 Biotypes of Castelnuovo dell'Abate

Every grape harvested across Poggio di Sotto's 20 hectares in Castelnuovo dell'Abate enters the cellar under a single classification: Brunello di Montalcino. There is no Rosso pick, no Brunello pick, no Riserva pick at harvest. The separation comes months later, during maturation, when the cellar team assesses each lot against the question of how long it can sustain ageing. Lots without the depth for a full Brunello maturation are bottled as Rosso di Montalcino. Lots that hold but fall short of Riserva level become Brunello. Only the deepest lots carry the Riserva label. The estate can make this judgment in part because the vineyard contains more than 182 distinct Sangiovese biotypes growing side by side, a population accumulated over decades of cultivation at different altitudes and on different soils. Each biotype ripens at a slightly different moment and builds a slightly different tannin, acid, and aromatic profile within the same harvest. The final tiers are drawn from all of them, classified only after the wine has spoken for itself in the cellar.

From the atlas

ColleMassari Spa Società Agricola

At A Glance

Group: ColleMassari Spa Società Agricola Estates: Castello ColleMassari (Montecucco), Grattamacco (Bolgheri), Poggio di Sotto (Montalcino), San Giorgio (Montalcino) Owners: Claudio Tipa and Maria Iris Bertarelli Farming: Organic across all four estates Principal grapes: Sangiovese (Montecucco, Montalcino); Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sangiovese (Bolgheri)

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The Producer

ColleMassari is a Tuscan wine group whose four estates sit in three of the region's appellations: Montecucco in the Maremma, Bolgheri on the Tyrrhenian coast, and Montalcino in the hill country above the Val d'Orcia. Siblings Claudio Tipa and Maria Iris Bertarelli own all of it, and each estate operates under organic-agriculture principles that were established at purchase, not added later.

The flagship, Castello ColleMassari, anchors the group in Montecucco. The estate covers 1,200 hectares south of Montalcino, with roughly 120 hectares under vine on the rocky hillsides of the Maremma. Grattamacco, the Bolgheri estate, makes a Cabernet-led red in a denomination built on international varieties and maritime air. The group's most critically watched property is Poggio di Sotto, a 48-hectare farm in Castelnuovo dell'Abate, in the southern corner of the Montalcino zone, where 20 hectares of Sangiovese grow across a spread of altitudes on steep ridges beneath Mount Amiata.

Three appellations, three farming environments, and a single ownership decision: organic cultivation from day one.

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Place

Montecucco is a DOC appellation in the Maremma, the broad coastal and hill zone of southern Tuscany. It sits directly south of Montalcino and shares the same principal grape, Sangiovese, but operates under a separate and younger classification. The ColleMassari estate occupies a working landscape of forest, pasture, and vineyard, with its vines on the hillside sections where the rocky soils drain freely and temperatures drop sharply at night.

Bolgheri, where Grattamacco grows, is a coastal appellation on the Tyrrhenian side of the Maremma. The appellation built its reputation on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot brought in from Bordeaux varieties, and its warm growing season produces wines with more body and darker fruit than the Sangiovese appellations inland. Grattamacco's Superiore label, a blend dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, sits within this tradition while the mandatory inclusion of Sangiovese gives the blend a local anchor.

Poggio di Sotto's territory in Castelnuovo dell'Abate is the southernmost and generally warmest village-level growing zone within the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG. The vines climb from 190 to 440 metres on slopes that face Mount Amiata. The altitude range means cooler nights and longer growing seasons on the higher parcels, which slows ripening and preserves acidity in the Sangiovese.

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Soil And Site

At Castello ColleMassari, the cellar is excavated into a cool, rocky hillside in four levels. The site's geology provides natural temperature stability for the wines without refrigeration, and the four-level design allows the whole production process to run on gravity rather than mechanical pumping. Grapes arrive at the top; wine moves downward through fermentation and maturation without being pushed by a pump at any stage.

At Poggio di Sotto, the 20 hectares of vineyard spread across terrains that change with altitude, from lower slopes with heavier clay influence to higher ridges where the soils are thinner and stonier. The variation in soil type across the altitude range is one of the physical reasons the estate maintains such a wide population of Sangiovese biotypes: different parcels, at different heights, with different heat accumulation and water-holding capacity, favour different expressions of the variety.

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Story

When Claudio Tipa acquired Castello ColleMassari, the existing vineyards were converted to organic cultivation immediately. New blocks planted afterward went in organic from the start. The conversion was not a phased compromise: it happened estate-wide at the point of ownership change, establishing organic farming as the baseline rather than an upgrade.

The decision about oak came afterward, through cellar trials. Sangiovese at ColleMassari responded better to large French and Slovenian oak vats than to smaller barriques. Larger vessels slow the oak influence, allow the fruit and acidity of the variety to remain primary, and require less new-oak replacement over time. The estate adopted large vats as standard and has not moved away from that conclusion.

The acquisition of Poggio di Sotto added a Brunello property with a different logic. The estate in Castelnuovo dell'Abate had accumulated more than 182 Sangiovese biotypes across its rows over decades of cultivation. That population became part of what the group acquired: not just land and vines, but a working collection of the variety's historical variation in one of Montalcino's most southerly growing zones.

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Vineyards And Cellar

At Castello ColleMassari, the organic conversion meant stopping synthetic inputs and allowing the vineyard floor to develop naturally. The four-level gravity cellar eliminates pumping at every stage: fruit comes in at the top level, ferments in place, and descends through the cellar as it moves from tank to vessel to bottle. The practical consequence in the wine is gentler handling of the grape skins and must, which reduces extracted harshness and preserves aromatics.

Large French and Slovenian oak vats age the Sangiovese. These vessels impart less wood character than new barriques and allow the wine's own fruit, acidity, and tannin to develop across the maturation period without being overlaid by oak tannin or vanilla.

At Poggio di Sotto, all fruit harvested across the 20 hectares enters the cellar classified as Brunello di Montalcino. During maturation, lots are assessed and selected into three categories: Rosso di Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino, and Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. Nothing is designated Rosso before harvest. The Riserva level receives only the lots that sustain the longest maturation and carry the depth for extended ageing.

At Grattamacco, the Superiore ferments in open-top oak vats with manual punch-downs to integrate the cap gently, then matures for 18 months in small oak barrels.

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Wines

The group's range divides cleanly by appellation and grape.

Castello ColleMassari produces Montecucco DOC wines built on Sangiovese aged in large French and Slovenian oak vats. The large-vessel ageing keeps the wine's Sangiovese character forward: bright cherry and dried herb aromas, firm but not aggressive tannin, and the lively acidity of Sangiovese. The Montecucco label positions these wines in a less-known appellation that works with the same grape as Brunello but at an earlier drinking window and a lower price point.

Grattamacco in Bolgheri produces two wines with a clear hierarchy. The Bolgheri Rosso 2024 is the lighter of the two: Sangiovese-led with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, fresh-fruited and approachable without extended ageing. The Bolgheri Superiore 2021 is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 15% Sangiovese, and receives 18 months in small oak barrels. After 18 months in small oak, it carries dark fruit, graphite, and a more sustained tannin grip than the Rosso.

Poggio di Sotto works only with Sangiovese across three label levels: Rosso di Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino, and Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. All three come from the same 20 hectares and the same harvest. The distinction is made in the cellar during maturation, not at picking. The Brunello 2019 shows the estate's character: savoury and floral on the nose, with bright acidity lifting dense fruit through the mid-palate and firm tannins that need time to settle. The Riserva 2019, selected from the deepest lots, adds a chocolatey richness to that frame alongside the variety's characteristic crunchy red fruit and soaring acidity.

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In The Glass

The ColleMassari Montecucco Sangiovese offers the most immediate entry point to the group's style. From large-oak ageing, it shows dried cherry, dried herb, and a hint of earth on the nose, with medium body, firm tannin that does not grip aggressively, and the cutting acidity that Sangiovese holds in hillside Maremma sites. It drinks well at three to five years from vintage.

The Grattamacco Bolgheri Superiore opens with dark plum and blackcurrant, a graphite note from the Cabernet Sauvignon backbone, and a thread of dried cherry contributed by the Sangiovese portion. In the mouth, the tannins are dense and fine-grained after 18 months in small oak, the mid-palate is full, and the finish is long and dry. It needs four to six years from vintage before it is fully composed.

Poggio di Sotto's Brunello 2019 comes from steep ridges at elevation, and altitude shows in the wine's character: bright, almost crunchy red fruit, savoury depth from the older biotype Sangiovese population, firm tannins with grip, and a long finish driven by high acidity rather than weight. The 2019 Riserva amplifies that profile with more concentration, an added chocolatey depth on the mid-palate, and a tannin frame that will require a decade to open fully.

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A Bottle To Understand It

Start with the Grattamacco Bolgheri Rosso 2024. It is the most accessible bottle in the group's range: Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot in a proportion designed for early drinking rather than extended cellaring. The wine has enough Bolgheri warmth to give it immediate fruit and body, enough Sangiovese to keep it from feeling heavy, and enough freshness to hold interest through a full meal. It is a concrete example of what the group does in Bolgheri before the Superiore adds 18 months of oak and a more demanding tannin profile. Open it at two to four years from vintage.

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Anecdote

Every grape harvested at Poggio di Sotto's 20 hectares in Castelnuovo dell'Abate enters the cellar under the same classification: Brunello di Montalcino. There is no Rosso pick, no Brunello pick, no Riserva pick. The separation happens months later, during maturation, when the cellar team assesses each lot against the question of how much time it can sustain. Lots that do not carry the depth for a full Brunello ageing become Rosso di Montalcino. Lots that hold but do not reach Riserva level bottle as Brunello. Only the deepest lots earn the Riserva label. The reason the estate can make this call is partly the 182-plus distinct Sangiovese biotypes growing side by side across the vineyard: different clonal lineages, accumulated over decades, ripening at slightly different moments and building slightly different tannin, acid, and aromatic profiles within the same harvest. The final blend is drawn from all of them, classified only after the wine has spoken for itself in the cellar.

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Final Word

ColleMassari is a Tuscan wine group built around one consistent decision: organic farming applied from the point of acquisition, not as an aspiration. The estates in Montecucco, Bolgheri, and Montalcino each work with the grape and appellation logic their land demands. The most compelling bottles come from Poggio di Sotto, where a remarkable Sangiovese archive and a cellar selection process that works from the top down produce Brunello and Riserva wines that require patience but reward it clearly.

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Sources

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