Salustri Leonardo

The estate was established at the beginning of the 1900s, but viticulture started being the main activity in the 1960s. The first bottling was in 1996. The azienda is in the heart of Tuscan Maremma on the slopes of Monte Amiata near the medieval town of Cinigiano, and between Montalcino (the estate is just 15 kilometers from Montalcino) and Scansano. The hills of Poggi del Sasso, where the vineyards stand, have a particularly favourable microclimate for viticulture, due to the altitude and to the sea breezes, due to the concentrated sun on the top of these hills and due to the composition of the soil. In fact this area is ideal for organic farming, as there are very few problems with disease and pests. Furthermore, the DOC Montecucco was established in 1998 by Leonardo Salustri together with another estate. The clones of Sangiovese, Vermentino and Ciliegiolo have been selected in the old vineyards of the estates with the collaboration of the University of Pisa and have been classified, by the University, as “Salustri biotypes”. Leonardo Salustri and his son Marco manage the estate directly, without consultants, following the tradition of Maremma and of their family. The grapes are monitored closely throughout the vegetative cycle and the clusters are selected carefully during harvest so that only the best grapes are vinified. The cellar was built in 1996 and enlarged in 2006 and it is equipped with steel vats with temperature control and with oak casks of a capacity over 22 hectolitres. The practices in the cellar follow a minimum handling philosophy, no chemical products are added to the wine, wines are stabilized through decantation and the alcoholic and malolactic fermentations are spontaneous. The wines mature in large oak casks (25-50 hectolitre capacity). The estate is certified organic since 1994.