Overview

Pieve Santa Restituta is Gaja’s estate in Montalcino, purchased in 1994. It is the family’s first expansion outside the Barbaresco and Barolo areas since its establishment in 1859. The estate spans 86 under vines. Located in a particularly privileged position, facing south and south-west, the estate has an altitude ranging from 1,050 to 1,150 feet above sea level. The hills, of the Eocene age and facing the sea, are characterized by an extremely windy, dry and bright microclimate, preventing damp stagnation and allowing full grape ripening. 

Since 1994 several redevelopment works have been carried out in the vineyards to transform the vine growing methods in line with Gaja’s winemaking philosophy. 

The name of the winery derives from the ancient Pieve (church), situated in the middle of the estate, whose foundations date back to the 4th century AD. The labels chosen for the wines pay tribute to the Pieve and recall the typical colors of the Gaja family, i.e. black and white. 

Wine has been made here since the 12th century. Pieve Santa Restituta produces three Brunello di Montalcino wines: Rennina, Sugarille and Brunello di Montalcino. 

History

The estate takes its name from the parish church (Pieve in Italian) of Saint Restituta (Pieve Santa Restituta), dedicated to the 4th-century saint and martyr, Saint Restituta. 

Santa Restituta is the patron saint of the island of Ischia (off the coast of Naples, Italy), where she was miraculously delivered from her pagan torturers who had planned to kill her at sea. In Naples, the early-Christian Basilica di Santa Restituta contains some of the greatest works of art of the Italian Middle Ages and Renaissance. 

Because Santa Restituta is not commonly worshiped in central Italy, the church on the Gaja family’s estate represents a truly unique example of medieval Christian architecture and art. Since the purchase of the estate in 1994, the Gaja family has worked painstakingly to restore this beautiful and remarkable house of worship.