In 1844 Petrolo was owned by the agronomist Giorgio Perrin when it was common practice to plant French grape varieties in Chianti to combine with Sangiovese. The Bazzocchi family acquired the estate in the 1940's, and Petrolo remains family owned with Luca Sanjust taking over from his mother Lucia Bazzocchi in the mid-1980's. Petrolo is situated in the Val d'Arno di Sopra, bordering the south-eastern part of Chianti Classico, along the Arno River between the Arezzo plain and the Florentine hills. This is in the sub-zone of Colli Aretini, with the Pratomagno Mountains providing a magnificent backdrop to the vineyards. The area is steeped in history. Val d'Arno di Sopra was one of the four regions delimited in 1716 by Cosimo III de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany as one of Tuscany's top four wine producing zones, and the Petrolo estate was once part of the old fiefdom of Galatrona. The medieval tower or “Torrione” still remains built on top of Roman foundations and Petrolo's Galatrona wine was the first Super Tuscan to be made entirely from Merlot. At Petrolo they are passionate about the environment, gaining organic certification in 2016. 31 hectares are under vine in the DOC Val d'Arno di Sopra appellation on 12 different vineyard sites, planted at between 250 and 450 metres above sea level on a mixture of rocks, marl, shale and sandstone soils typical of the Chianti region. Petrolo cultivate Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malvasia and Trebbiano, and they are experimenting with Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The organic wines are made with a minimalist approach. The low-yielding vines are hand-picked, native yeasts are utilized for spontaneous fermentations and macerations are long. Vinification and ageing is carried out in a combination of terracotta amphorae, cement vats, French oak tonneaux and barrique. The wines are meticulously and tenderly made, handcrafted to the highest quality. They are full of character and personality and are a little bit off the beaten Tuscan wine path.