Pieve di Santa Restituta

Though most of the buildings in this little hamlet date from the 13th century, the tiny church (pieve) of Santa Restituta has its origins as far back as the 4th century.

The 16 hectares of vines that surround it, to the south west of Montalcino, occupy some of the finest terroir in the appellation.

Angelo Gaja bought a controlling interest in the estate in 1994 and since then all his energy and expertise have been brought to bear to produce some of the finest wines in the area.

Located some 350 metres above sea level, with a gentle south west exposure and rocky soils this estate always had the potential to be one of the finest in the region and now, in the right hands, that potential is being fulfilled. In 2005, the family completed the installation of a state of the art winemaking facility and the meticulous restoration of the beautiful medieval church.

The cellar lies below the ground and covers 4,000 square meters. It incorporates the existing cellar and was built to have as little impact on the environment as possible. Visitors to the estate are not even aware of its presence until they are led through the small entrance.

Angelo has imposed exacting standards with drastically reduced vineyard yields and stricter selection processes. This is exemplified by the fact that the 2002 and 2003 vintages were declassified, in full. In 2004, considered an excellent harvest, the winery produced both of its vineyard designated wines, Brunello di Montalcino Rennina and Brunello di Montalcino Sugarille.

With the 2005 vintage, the Gaja family decided to produce its first blended Brunello di Montalcino, made from fruit grown in its top sites, Sugarille and Rennina (Santo Pietro, Castagno, and Pian dei Cerri) and fruit sourced from the 10 hectare parcel located in Torrenieri, in the north eastern subzone of the Brunello di Montalcino appellation.