Petrolo wine estate is situated in the province of Arezzo, between the eastern Chianti area and the Arno river, with the magnificent Pratomagno mountains as a backdrop. A territory of great geographic and climatic variation. And a little less beaten wine path in Tuscany. This particular part of Valdarno Superiore, the ‘upper Arno valley’, has only recently been officially granted a DOC denomination in the wine map. In Petrolo they have always done things their own way and are known for their own labels, rather than those of the territory. Petrolo has a great terroir for great wines. But most of all it is the manual work with the terroir that makes Petrolo wine estate such a great winemaker. The estate decided to produce only great wines and there is nothing pretentious about it. Luca Sanjust, the current owner of Petrolo estate describes winemaking following:
“Making a great wine is complex. You need a coincidence of several circumstances; special pedoclimatic conditions, awareness, dedication and hard work. And also a good portion of luck.”
Petrolo is looking both back in the history of the Tuscan winemaking, as well as in the future. Valdarno Superiore may be a new DOC area in Tuscany, but it took back the original denomination, as one of Tuscany’s four great wine areas, established by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo III De Medici, in 1716. A century later, 1834, Giorgio Perrin, previous owner of Petrolo and a member of Gergofilian academy, discovered an extremely rich ecosystem in the soil at Petrolo’s vineyards that is suitable for different varieties of grapes. He brought the french grapes at the estate, the merlot and the cabernet sauvignon, to be combined with the local sangiovese. Each of the grapes is growing in their own vineyard, in the best possible position and eco system for that grape.