Tenuta Luce 2015 750mL

Following a rainy winter that helped maintain the water reserves accumulated during the previous season, the budding phase began at the beginning of April. The plants developed steadily thanks to a sunny and dry season which helped maintain the plants in good health throughout the entire growing phase. The hot, long summer was mitigated by two intense August rainfalls, which provided the ideal conditions for a uniform, intense and stressfree ripening of the grapes. 

Tasting Notes:

The wine’s complex nose of ripe fruit features dominant cherry and plum aromas introduced by spicy highlights of vanilla and ginger bread that pave the way for softer notes of cinnamon and cloves. To the palate, the wine is genuine and structured. The tannins are present but elegant and not aggressive, providing a broad and dense frame to the wine. The wine is pleasant with a sustained finish dominated by a wonderful crispness.

Grape Varietals:

Sangiovese and Merlot 

95 Points - Gismondi on Wine, December 2018. "Luce was born a collaboration of the Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi and Robert Mondavi Families with the idea of matching the roundness and softness of merlot with the elegance and structure of sangiovese in the revered home of the sangiovese-only Brunello di Montalcino. At 350 to 420 metres, the Luce estate is among Montalcino's highest. Sangiovese likes the heights while the merlot is better placed in the clays of the lowest elevations. Since 2002, Lamberto Frescobaldi has been entirely responsible for the Luce project keeping a close, watchful eye on the Super Tuscan red with a worldwide reputation. At 15 percent alcohol, 2015 comes calling in a big way with ripe fruit and power. Uncharacteristically showy right out of the gate, the style is rich and powerful but still with enough acidity to keep it fresh and balanced. Think black cherries, dark plums and a plethora of brown spicing. It is a fruitful year and a rich wine that should be popular with those who love the more lavish New World style. At only 35 hectolitres per hectare, the yields are low and well-controlled. Luce spends two years in hand-split oak barriques, of which 85 percent are new."

93 Points - Wine Enthusiast, Kerin O'Keefe, May 2019. "Made with Sangiovese and Merlot, this vibrant red offers aromas of fragrant blue flower, dark-skinned berry, cedar and underbrush. The elegant juicy palate delivers fleshy black cherry, raspberry jam, espresso and licorice alongside fine-grained tannins and bright acidity. Drink 2020–2028."

93 Points - Tom Cannavan, January 2019. "2015 experienced a sunny and dry growing season, the hot summer mitigated by intense August rainfalls that provided ideal conditions for uniform, stress-free ripening. A blend of Sangiovese and Merlot with a yield of 35 hl/ha, and aged 24 months in barriques, 85% of which were new. A robust, firm character on the nose, plenty of polished oak, dark and liquorice character. The tannins are firm and very grippy at this stage, a big structural wine, the tannin and acid framework a touch angular right now, though softening notes or spices and obvious fruit concentration suggest it would be best approached in another five years perhaps."

93 Points - vvWine.ch, Adrian van Velsen, August 2018. "(50% Sangiovese, 50% Merlot) Bright ruby, youthful shine. Intensely fragrant, very complex nose of dark cherries, plums, ripe raspberries, licorice, spiced bread, dried herbs and some vanilla. Fruity and powerful at the start, full-bodied, still a bit impetuous and with a very good structure, the tannins are of very high quality, finely woven like a silk scarf they envelop the fruit, which is ripe but not overripe, reminiscent of cherries and blueberries, despite high concentration and 15% alcohol, the wine does not seem clumsy but extremely elegant. In the finish of excellent length, ends surprisingly crisp and very spicy. Now until 2030+."

92 Points - Wine Spectator, July 2018.