Tenuta Luce Lucente

Established in 1995, Tenuta Luce represents an ambitious meeting of Tuscan tradition and international winemaking vision, uniting the centuries-old expertise of the Frescobaldi family with the California innovation of Robert Mondavi. The estate is located on the southwestern slopes of Montalcino, where vineyards planted to Sangiovese and Merlot occupy prime sites between 350 and 420 metres above sea level. Its wines—most notably the flagship Luce della Vite—express a bold vision of Montalcino terroir shaped through a modern, Bordeaux-influenced lens.

Quick Facts

• Location: Southwestern slopes of Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy
• Founded: 1995
• Founding partners: Frescobaldi family and Robert Mondavi
• Current ownership: Frescobaldi family
• Appellation: Toscana IGT
• Principal grapes: Sangiovese and Merlot
• Vineyard elevation: 350 to 420 metres above sea level
• Soils: Clay-limestone
• Grand Vin: Luce della Vite
• Second wine: Lucente
• Style: Super Tuscan, structured and refined with Sangiovese backbone and Merlot richness
• Viticulture: Sustainable vineyard management with meticulous parcel selection
• Ageing potential: 10 to 20 years

A Transatlantic Partnership in Montalcino

Tenuta Luce was conceived as a collaboration between two influential wine families from opposite sides of the Atlantic. The Frescobaldi family brought seven centuries of winemaking heritage in Tuscany, while Robert Mondavi contributed a pioneering approach shaped by decades of innovation in Napa Valley.

The partnership sought to create wines that honoured Montalcino's Sangiovese tradition while embracing the structure and depth associated with international varieties. This vision led to the estate's distinctive focus on blending Sangiovese with Merlot—a practice uncommon in Montalcino but central to the identity of Tuscany's Super Tuscan movement.

Following Mondavi's passing, the Frescobaldi family assumed full ownership while maintaining the estate's founding philosophy of combining terroir expression with modern winemaking clarity.

Vineyards Shaped by Elevation and Limestone

The estate's vineyards occupy carefully selected sites on Montalcino's southwestern slopes, where elevations ranging from 350 to 420 metres create conditions suited to both Sangiovese and Merlot. Clay-limestone soils provide structure and minerality, while the site's exposure ensures warm days tempered by cool nocturnal temperatures that preserve aromatic complexity and natural acidity.

Parcel selection plays a defining role. Sangiovese is planted on sites that emphasise tension, freshness and the variety's characteristic bright acidity. Merlot occupies warmer exposures where the clay component supports ripeness, concentration and a rounded, velvety texture. This deliberate distribution allows each variety to ripen fully while retaining balance and elegance.

Sustainable viticulture and meticulous canopy management ensure that fruit reaches the cellar with the purity and definition required for long ageing.

Luce della Vite and the Estate's Expression

Luce della Vite is the estate's flagship wine and a powerful expression of Montalcino terroir filtered through a Bordeaux-inspired blending philosophy. Typically composed of approximately equal proportions of Sangiovese and Merlot, the wine combines Sangiovese's structure, acidity and savoury complexity with Merlot's richness, body and smooth tannins.

Ageing takes place in French oak barriques, followed by extended bottle maturation before release. The result is a wine of concentration and depth, built to evolve gracefully over 10 to 20 years. Over time, Luce della Vite develops layered complexity, tertiary aromatics and a more seamless integration of fruit, oak and terroir.

Lucente, the estate's second wine, offers a more approachable interpretation of the same philosophy. It shares the blend's essential character but is crafted for earlier accessibility, presenting fresh fruit purity alongside refinement and balance.