History
Medieval origins
San Giusto a Rentennano takes its name from a term of Etruscan origin. The property overlooks the upper Arbia River at the southernmost end of the Chianti Classico zone. It began as an ancient Cistercian convent and was consequently known as San Giusto alle Monache. Following a treaty in 1204 that established the boundary between the territories of Florence and Siena, the Florentines fortified the site.
Surviving parts of the medieval complex include the Guelph crenellations along the perimeter wall, the massive barbican walls and subterranean vaults. The underground spaces remain in use as cellars for maturing wine in wood.
The Martini di Cigala family
The medieval estate entered the Martini di Cigala family through marriage in 1914. Enrico Martini di Cigala inherited it in 1957. In 1992 ownership passed to his nine children. Six of them—Anna, Lucia, Elisabetta, Francesco, Alessandro and Luca—are now partners in the estate company, while Elisabetta, Francesco and Luca manage its operations.
Development of the range
The first estate Riserva was bottled from the 1975 vintage. Vin San Giusto was first bottled from the 1979 vintage, followed by the first bottled Chianti Classico in 1981. Percarlo was first produced in 1983, and the estate's extra-virgin olive oil was first bottled in 1984. La Ricolma followed in 1993. The Riserva acquired the name Le Baròncole with the 2000 vintage. Fuori Misura was introduced with the 2015 vintage.
Technical team and organic conversion
Consulting oenologist Attilio Pagli joined the estate in 1999. The conversion to organic agriculture began with the olive groves in 2001; the vineyards and all remaining land were certified and registered in 2006. Agronomist Ruggero Mazzilli began working with the estate in 2007. That year also brought the installation of a photovoltaic system.
Andrea Baccelli joined in 2023 as agronomist and winemaker, working alongside the family and the established vineyard and cellar team.
Terroir
San Giusto a Rentennano overlooks the upper course of the Arbia River in the southernmost part of the Chianti Classico zone, within the commune of Gaiole in Chianti and approximately 12 km from Siena.
The 160 ha estate lies at an average elevation of 270 m above sea level. Its land is divided among 31 ha of vineyards, 11 ha of olive groves, 40 ha of woodland and 78 ha devoted to crops and grazing.
The vineyards occupy soils of differing composition, with sand, clay, limestone, alkaline components and calcium-rich material. The areas supplying the Percarlo selection have predominantly Pliocene formations: layers of sand and stones extend to depths of approximately 2–5 m and rest on clay beds.
The microclimate combines pronounced day-to-night temperature changes with conditions that can remain hot during harvest. The estate describes all of its vineyards as favourably exposed.
Winemaking
Agricultural work remains predominantly manual. Only grapes grown in the estate's own vineyards are vinified.
Organic farming began in 2001 with the olive groves. Certification and registration through QCertificazione were extended to the vineyards and the remainder of the property in 2006.
Yield is controlled through green harvesting. The operation is normally divided into two passes: an initial thinning during July and August and another at the end of August or beginning of September. Depending on conditions, 30–50% of the natural bunch load may be removed to support full ripening. In 2024, approximately 25% of the initial crop was discarded between 20 July and 10 August, followed by the removal of roughly 10% of the remaining load in early September.
Vines and olive trees are pruned during the waning moon. Prunings are removed from the plantings, chopped with a dedicated shredder-collector and piled with manure from outdoor-grazed cattle and cut grass. The mixture ferments and decomposes, with periodic turning, before the finished compost is spread—preferably in autumn—to add organic matter and microbial life to the vineyard soils.
New vineyard installations use recyclable steel and wood supports. Winter tying uses plant-derived material; willow branches from the estate are used for some ties, while the fruiting cane in the Guyot system is secured with metal wire wrapped in biodegradable paper.
Only estate-grown grapes enter the cellar. Fermentations rely on the grapes' indigenous yeasts, without the addition of cultured yeast.
The cellar works with vitrified concrete, stainless-steel and oak fermentation vessels. Red-wine extraction can include pump-overs and punch-downs. After racking, skins may be gently pressed in a modern vertical press, with the press wine returned to the main lot where appropriate. Malolactic fermentation can be encouraged by warming the vat room.
Maturation employs large oak casks, 500-litre tonneaux and 225-litre barriques, including French oak from Allier and Nevers. The medieval underground vaults surviving from the former fortress remain in use for barrel maturation.
The wines are bottled after light filtration, so natural sediment may develop. Organic releases observe the applicable sulphite limits. Vin San Giusto is made without added sulphites, containing only those formed naturally during fermentation.
Philosophy
The estate's approach is built around direct control of its raw material: all wines are produced exclusively from family-owned vineyards, with predominantly manual farming and deliberate restriction of yields through repeated bunch thinning.
Its organic programme treats soil fertility as a living cycle. Vineyard and olive-tree prunings, grass cuttings and manure from outdoor-grazed cattle are composted for an extended period and returned to the land. Recyclable or biodegradable materials are favoured in vineyard structures, tying and packaging.
In the cellar, indigenous yeasts, light filtration and the continued use of the medieval maturation vaults reflect an effort to retain a direct connection between the wines, their vintage and the estate's soils. Vintage variation is accepted as part of a wine's fidelity to its terroir rather than treated as something to eliminate.