About this wine
Vineyard and terroir
Sancaba Bianco is grown in a Grechetto vineyard planted in 2018–2019 at San Casciano dei Bagni, in the province of Siena. The site lies at 650 m above sea level on Galestro—flaky, calcareous clay—and sandstone soils. Planting density is 8,000 vines per hectare. The vines were six to seven years old for the 2024 vintage and five to six years old for 2023.
The vineyard is certified organic. In 2024, fertilisation comprised manure and cover crops; vineyard protection was limited to copper and sulphur permitted in organic cultivation. The 2024 yield was 4 tonnes per hectare. In 2023, manure was used for fertilisation, the same permitted copper-and-sulphur treatments were applied, and the yield was 3 tonnes per hectare.
Grapes
100% Grechetto.
Vinification
The 2024 grapes were hand-picked and manually selected from 7 to 11 September. They were gently pressed, with only the first-run juice retained. Fermentation took place in stainless-steel vats at a controlled 12°C with indigenous yeasts and lasted approximately two weeks.
The 2023 grapes were harvested by hand from 14 to 16 September. The same approach was followed: gentle pressing, use of the first-run juice only, and an approximately two-week fermentation in stainless steel at 12°C with indigenous yeasts.
Ageing
The wine spends six months on the fine lees in a 20 hl cement tank, with frequent lees stirring. A small portion is raised in a 225-litre oak barrique. The two components are blended, after which the wine is clarified and filtered before bottling.
The 2024 was bottled during the waning moon in April 2025. The 2023 was bottled during the waning moon in April 2024.
Technical data
IGT Bianco Toscana. The production area is San Casciano dei Bagni (SI). Production amounted to 2,950 bottles for the 2024 vintage and 3,000 bottles for the inaugural 2023 vintage. The bottle shown for 2024 is 750 ml.
Tasting profile
The 2024 has a more robust and fully ripe profile than initially expected from the cool opening of the season, with intense fruit aromas.
The 2023 shows an unusually herbaceous profile, marked freshness and a distinctly vertical character.
Vintage notes
2024
A cool, damp spring and early summer were followed by a scorching, dry August. Abundant spring rainfall continued into early July, though with less intensity than in 2023. Careful phytosanitary work resulted in good grape health. The mild conditions ended abruptly in August, when temperatures reached 37–40°C and rapidly accelerated a ripening process that had previously advanced at a slow, steady pace. The sudden heat transformed what had appeared likely to be a cool, delicate vintage, producing a more robust, fully mature wine with pronounced fruit aromas.
2023
The inaugural vintage was harvested five years after the vineyard was first planted. It was a wet, humid growing season and one of the preceding decade’s most difficult for fungal-disease control under certified-organic farming. Heavy rainfall persisted until early July, creating strong downy-mildew pressure. Grechetto proved more resistant than Pinot Nero because of its thicker skin, although its crop was still affected.
A short spell of high pressure in August gave way to renewed bad weather in September, bringing lower temperatures and further rainfall. Ripening became difficult, requiring a compromise between grape maturity and health. The resulting Grechetto displayed an atypically herbaceous profile together with freshness and verticality.