Santedame is located in the Castellina in Chianti municipality, in a distinctive south-facing area to the west of the town.
The area is known as the “Conca d’Oro (Golden Basin) of Chianti Classico” due to the conformation of the land and the exceptional quality of the wine and oil produced here.
The gentle slopes of the Conca d’Oro form a unique place where vines are naturally pushed to their extreme, resulting in minimal bunches of the highest quality.
The 80 or so hectares on the estate on average produce 50 quintals of grapes per hectare. The result is a concentrated wine of outstanding minerality and finesse.
This incredibly low yield derives from a series of a natural factors: the impoverished soil that is nevertheless abundant in stones and galestro, and the changes in temperature, especially in the summer (cool and clear at night; hot and dry during the day).
The south-facing aspect of most of the vineyards in the Conca d’Oro complete the location of a region destined to produce top wines.
The Santedame Chapel
The estate is named for the Santedame Chapel, which dates to the fifteenth century and is the sole surviving part of a Benedictine monastery that once occupied the site, a stopping point for pilgrims on their way to Rome. The chapel contains a beautiful fresco of the Virgin Mary, the holy lady (“Santedame” in Italian). Some scholars have attributed the fresco to the school of Florentine master Ghirlandaio. The fresco has been restored recently and is featured on the Santedame wine label.
Tenute Ruffino Società Agricola acquired Santedame in early 1988. A long cypress-lined road leads to the estate in a way that is reminiscent of the typical image of a Tuscan farmhouse. A beautiful cypress forest, one of the few protected woods of its kind in Europe, surrounds the property.
The olive groves of unparalleled quality on the estate enabled Tenute Ruffino to produce Chianti Classico DOP extra-virgin olive oil in accordance with strict guidelines.
Total hectares
250, 70 under vine
Grape varieties
Vineyard features
Galestro soil on the surface, dry and windswept. Steep hills. Swings in temperature from day to night in the highest part of the vineyard.
Estate Wines
