The Winery
A Family's
Journey Through
the Tuscan Hills
Tenuta Percorso is a family estate in the hills of Montecatini Val di Cecina, a quieter corner of Tuscany where vines grow slowly at altitude and the land repays patience. In 2014, Marc Robert Bitzer, a German citizen long based in the United States, began acquiring parcels in the area, building the property over time into what it is today: 140 hectares of woodland, arable land, and vineyard. The name says it plainly: percorso means journey.
The Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards at Castro Mocajo were already in place when the first parcels were purchased. Merlot came later, planted at the lower Castellaro site and harvested for the first time in 2020, marking the first vintage of what became Castellaro di Mocajo. The choice of varieties was deliberate. Bitzer believes Cabernet Franc and Merlot are undervalued by newer generations, and that in the soils of the Val di Cecina, they express a character that is genuinely their own.
Not every year is equal. The spring of 2023 brought persistent poor weather; mildew destroyed the Merlot harvest entirely. A portion of the Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon on the higher, better-drained ground at Castro Mocajo was spared. The vintage that followed was generous, with healthy grapes across all three varieties. These are the rhythms of this land.
The estate rises above the Val di Cecina at elevations between 130 and 310 metres. The soils are mineral-rich, the maritime breeze from the Tyrrhenian coast keeps the nights cool, and the drainage is natural. The aim, from the start, has been straightforward: to tend the vines with care, work with the finest professionals in the region, and let this particular hillside speak in every bottle. We make very little wine, by design.
