One of six groves in our care
San Donato.
Our highest grove.
617 trees, mostly Frantoio, on a southwest facing hillside near San Donato in Collina. Daniela's grove, in our care since 2010.
The restoration
Carrying on Bruno's work.
Daniela and her husband Bruno bought San Donato dreaming of a home among olive trees, and cared for its trees season after season. When Bruno passed away, the grove fell into abandonment. In 2010 we came in to carry on what they began, and brought San Donato back into harvest.
Twice as high as any of our other groves.
San Donato stands at 500 metres. The next highest, Vernalese, sits at 250.
Mostly Frantoio.
Five varieties grow at San Donato, and most of the trees are Frantoio.
Why the trees stand so far apart.
San Donato was planted the way hillside groves once were: widely spaced and never irrigated. What each harvest gives comes from the slope and the season.
The grove.
- Near San Donato in Collina
- 8.9 acres
- 500 metres
- Southwest facing
- 617 trees
- Frantoio, Moraiolo, Leccino, Pendolino, Olivo Bianco
- In our care since 2010
The 2025 harvest
San Donato's 2025 harvest.
The season
Picked on October 27 and 28, under cool, overcast skies. Less fruit on the trees than the year before, yet a higher yield: 15.96%.
Tasting
Artichoke and green almond, vegetal and balsamic, then layered bitter greens and a long black pepper finish. Firm and composed.
Pairing
Made for food with presence. Pour it over a hearty soup.
The record, 2025
100% Frantoio
- Fruitiness
- 6.6/10
- Bitterness
- 6.2/10
- Pepperiness
- 6.4/10
- Polyphenols
- 538 mg/kg
- Free fatty acids
- 0.24%
- Peroxides
- 7.4 meq O₂/kg
- Monounsaturated fatty acids
- above 75%
- Pesticide residues
- not detected
2025 gave a single variety Frantoio. Not every year does.
Fil's full tasting notes, pairings and the season as it happened are in My Grove.
The people of this grove
Daniela's grove.
San Donato still belongs to Daniela. The trees she and Bruno cared for are the ones we harvest today.
Belong to a grove.
Every Guardian is connected to a real tree in one of our restored groves. Your tree is assigned after you join, wherever one is available, and you'll see exactly where it stands: its grove, its number, its coordinates. Each harvest, two bottles of that grove's oil are yours.
Guard a tree by December 31 for this year's harvest.
