Italy · Chianti Hills

Tenuta San Jacopo

Eighteenth-century organic estate in Cavriglia, Tuscany, producing Sangiovese-led Chianti Superiore from 40 hectares of certified organic vineyards at 300 metres above sea level.

The producer

Tenuta San Jacopo sits on the border between the Valdarno valley and the first Chianti hills, in the Arezzo province of Tuscany, at roughly 300 metres above sea level. The estate dates to 1737. Three brothers from Milan, Vanni, Carlo and Marco Cattaneo, bought it in 2002 and rebuilt it from the soil upward: levelling vineyard blocks, cross-ripping the subsoil, installing drainage, replanting vines and committing to organic farming within a year of taking ownership.

Today, 40 hectares of certified organic vineyards produce the Poggio ai Grilli range, anchored by a Chianti Superiore DOCG of 90% Sangiovese and 10% Merlot. The Superiore is vinified in temperature-controlled stainless steel, parcel by parcel, for a wine of fresh cherry, violet and bright acidity. The Riserva takes the same blend through two years in French oak barriques, adding dried herb complexity and firmer tannin depth.

Known for

Chianti Superiore DOCG; parcel-by-parcel organic viticulture; stainless-steel Superiore versus barrique-aged Riserva

Notable facts

The story

The Brothers from Milan

In the autumn of 2002, Vanni, Carlo and Marco Cattaneo drove out from Milan to take possession of Tenuta San Jacopo, an eighteenth-century property in Cavriglia that had been making wine since 1737. The estate was intact but the vineyards were in poor shape. The three brothers, none of them farmers by training, began an agricultural programme that would have taxed a family with generations of viticultural experience: they levelled the soil across the vineyard blocks, cross-ripped the subsoil to break up compaction, dug new drainage channels, pulled out failing vines and planted replacements, and replaced the support structures throughout. Before that work was finished, they had also decided that the estate would go organic. No synthetic chemicals, green manure instead of industrial fertiliser, native yeasts drawn from their own vines rather than ordered from a supplier. The estate was certified organic by the time the first bottles from the rebuilt vineyards reached the market.

From the atlas

Tenuta San Jacopo

At A Glance

The Producer

Tenuta San Jacopo is an eighteenth-century estate on the border between the Valdarno valley and the first Chianti hills, in the Arezzo province of Tuscany. Three brothers from Milan, Vanni, Carlo and Marco Cattaneo, bought it in 2002 and rebuilt it from the ground up. The vineyards needed serious work. The Cattaneos levelled soil, cross-ripped the subsoil, installed drainage, replaced vines and put up new supports before the estate could produce anything worth bottling.

That agricultural start shaped everything that followed. Within a year of the purchase, the estate had committed to organic farming: no synthetic chemicals, no genetically modified organisms, green manure feeding the soil, native yeasts drawn from the estate's own vines. Today, 40 hectares of certified organic vineyards produce the Sangiovese-led wines that carry the Poggio ai Grilli name.

Place

Cavriglia sits in the Arezzo hills a few kilometres from Gaiole, at the eastern edge of Chianti territory. The estate is positioned between the Valdarno valley floor and the rising Chianti hills, at roughly 300 metres above sea level. That altitude matters for Sangiovese: cooler nights at harvest slow ripening, preserve acidity, and keep the grape's natural freshness intact. The estate sits outside the Chianti Classico zone, which runs between Florence and Siena to the west, but the elevation and the Apennine influence on the microclimate produce Sangiovese with the firm acid line that defines the best of that neighbouring zone.

The DOCG in use here is Chianti Superiore, a category that permits a broader geographic base than Classico but requires longer ageing before release. The Superiore designation on the Poggio ai Grilli label signals a wine held to a stricter standard than basic Chianti.

Soil And Site

The estate's 140-odd hectares include vineyards, olive groves and mixed woodland, with 40 hectares under vine. The site sits at approximately 300 metres and faces conditions typical of the Arezzo hills: moderate rainfall, warm growing seasons tempered by altitude, and cold enough winters to give the vines a genuine dormancy. Soil composition is not documented in the available sources. What is confirmed is the mix of land uses: vines interspersed with olive trees and forest is an old Tuscan pattern that moderates humidity and keeps the agricultural ecosystem from monoculture stress.

Story

The estate's recorded history starts in 1737 in Cavriglia. For most of its life it was a working agricultural property in the Arezzo hills, producing wine alongside olive oil as Tuscan estates always have. When the Cattaneos arrived from Milan in 2002, it was still a working estate, but the vineyards had declined.

The brothers were not winemakers by background. They were businessmen from a city with no agricultural tradition of its own, taking on a rural property that needed capital and labour before it could produce anything serious. The decision to rebuild organically, from the first year of ownership rather than waiting until the operation was stable, defined the character of the estate they eventually created. Green manure went into the soil before synthetic inputs were ever considered. Native yeasts from the estate's own vines replaced commercial packets at the fermentation stage. The winery was built to vinify by parcel and by variety, keeping lots separate from harvest through primary fermentation and into the small oak barrels used for malolactic.

By the time the first bottles under the Cattaneo ownership were ready to drink, the estate was certified organic. The Poggio ai Grilli label, named for a vineyard on the property, became the primary vehicle for both the Superiore and the Riserva.

Vineyards And Cellar

All 40 hectares are farmed without synthetic chemical inputs. Green manure crops feed the soil between the vine rows. Native yeasts, selected from the estate's own vines, drive fermentation rather than commercial strains, which means the fermentation reflects the specific microbiological environment of the site.

At harvest, grapes are hand-picked into baskets, parcel by parcel, and moved quickly to the winery. They are crushed without pressing, a gentler approach that avoids extracting bitter compounds from stems and skins during the initial phase. The crushed fruit goes into small, temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks, with each parcel and variety kept separate. That separation continues after primary fermentation: the lots move into small oak barrels for malolactic fermentation, still divided by origin. Individual parcel and grape characters remain distinct until the winemaker decides how to blend.

The Superiore finishes in stainless steel and goes to bottle with its fruit character intact. The Riserva takes a different route: approximately two years in French oak barriques, then a further six months in bottle before release. The oak adds dried herb and dark fruit complexity, firms the tannins into a smoother texture.

Wines

The main range is anchored by two Chianti Superiore DOCG wines under the Poggio ai Grilli label, both made from 90% Sangiovese and 10% Merlot. The Merlot addition softens the angular quality that high-altitude Sangiovese can carry and adds a layer of dark fruit alongside the Sangiovese's native cherry and violet.

The Poggio ai Grilli Chianti Superiore is the entry wine: stainless-steel vinification from first fermentation through to bottling, with no oak ageing. The approach keeps acidity bright, tannins soft, and the fruit character of the Sangiovese at the foreground. Violet and cherry aromas, a touch of spice, and a clean finish with tannins that do not grip.

The Poggio ai Grilli Riserva Chianti DOCG takes the same blend through a different cellar route. Around two years in French oak barriques add dried herb complexity and dark cherry depth. The tannins become smoother and more knitted than in the Superiore, the acidity holds firm on the finish, and the wine needs a little time in the glass to open fully. A Decanter assessment of the 2015 vintage placed it at 88 points, noting the dried herb and dark cherry on the nose, smooth texture, and firm but unaggressive tannins.

Beyond the two Chianti wines, the estate produces white and sparkling wines, grappa and olive oil, though the source materials do not detail the varietal composition or cellar approach for those.

In The Glass

The Superiore opens with violet and fresh cherry, the characteristic aromatic signature of Sangiovese grown at altitude. Light spice sits underneath. In the mouth, the acidity is bright and food-friendly, the tannins are soft rather than dry, and the finish is clean and relatively short. The stainless-steel handling leaves the wine transparent to its fruit.

The Riserva shifts register. Dried herbs and dark cherry replace the fresh violet of the Superiore, and the nose takes a few minutes to open. The texture in the mouth is smoother, the fruit darker and more concentrated, the tannins firmer without being astringent. The acidity still holds on the finish, keeping the wine from feeling heavy despite the oak. Two years in barrique has layered in complexity without erasing the Sangiovese underneath.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with the Poggio ai Grilli Chianti Superiore. It is 90% Sangiovese from organic parcels at 300 metres, fermented in temperature-controlled steel with lots kept separate through to bottling, and it shows exactly what the estate's farming philosophy produces in the glass without any oak standing between you and the fruit. Violet, cherry, bright acidity, soft tannins, clean finish. It is ready to drink young, pairs without difficulty across a range of Tuscan food, and gives a direct answer to the most important question about this estate: what does organic Sangiovese from the Arezzo hills actually taste like.

Anecdote

In the autumn of 2002, Vanni, Carlo and Marco Cattaneo drove out from Milan to take possession of Tenuta San Jacopo, an eighteenth-century property in Cavriglia that had been making wine since 1737. The estate was intact but the vineyards were in poor shape. The three brothers, none of them farmers by training, began an agricultural programme that would have taxed a family with generations of viticultural experience: they levelled the soil across the vineyard blocks, cross-ripped the subsoil to break up compaction, dug new drainage channels, pulled out failing vines and planted replacements, and replaced the support structures throughout. Before that work was finished, they had also decided that the estate would go organic. No synthetic chemicals. Green manure instead of industrial fertiliser. Native yeasts drawn from their own vines rather than ordered from a supplier. The estate was certified organic by the time the first bottles from the rebuilt vineyards reached the market.

Final Word

Tenuta San Jacopo is a working organic estate that takes its history seriously without trading on it. The eighteenth-century founding date and the eighteenth-century buildings are facts, but the wines being made today are the product of a 2002 decision to start again from the soil upwards. The Poggio ai Grilli Superiore is honest, food-ready Tuscan Sangiovese. The Riserva is the same grapes taken somewhere more considered. Neither wine asks for more attention than it earns.

Sources

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