Tenuta Licinia is a small boutique wine producer in Lucignano (Tuscany) that offers tastings and personalized tours of its vineyards and garden.
At the winery, a pioneering young winemaker has taken on the heroic task of recovering and re-establishing a historic vineyard.
His contemporary approach to winemaking—based partly on geology—focuses on the critical interaction between subsoils and vines in producing high-quality wines.
Lucignano: A Spectacular Setting
Lucignano, a walled medieval village, is one of those small towns in Italy that are too easily missed. Tenuta Licinia is about three miles from Lucignano.
Tucked in the province of Arezzo in Tuscany, Lucignano is about a one-hour drive from Florence, 45 minutes from Siena, and a half hour from the city of Arezzo.
Known as the “Pearl of Valdichiana” (Chiana Valley), the town is rich in history and culture and has been designated as one of the I Borghi più belli d’Italia (the Most Beautiful Borghi of Italy).
Lucignano is located on a hilltop close to the border between Siena and Arezzo and offers one of the best examples of medieval town planning with maze-like concentric ring roads that have survived relatively intact over centuries.
Aerial photo of Lucignano, Tuscany, Italy
The interior circle houses the main square, the Church of San Francisco, the Collegiate Church of San Michele Arcangelo, and Palazzo Commale, a building with both municipal offices and Museo Comunale, a civic museum.
The area is known for its high-quality extra virgin olive oil, Chianina meat, Cinta Sense cold cuts, homemade pici pasta–and white, Rosato, red, sparkling, and dessert wines. Meals at local restaurants are simple, using many of the same high-quality ingredients and traditional preparations that have been used here for centuries.
Several processions and festivals occur in Lucignano throughout the year. The Maggiorata, on the last two Sundays of May, is the one best known, consisting of a parade of allegorical floats and the participation of most people in the town.
About the Winery and Winemaker
Tenuta Licinia Vineyards in summer
Tenuta Licinia comprises 60 hectares of woods, 5.5 hectares of vineyards, and 3 hectares of olive groves that were planted in the 1970s by a Belgian lawyer, Jacques de Liederkerke, grandfather of the current winemaker, James Marshall-Lockyer.
A Tuscan friend introduced Jacques to an abandoned farmhouse with a small vineyard, which the latter decided to restore. But for various reasons, Jacques could never fully realize the potential of his land. That responsibility would fall years later to his grandson, who had been working on his doctorate in philosophy at Oxford University.
James Marshall-Lockyer considers himself a “self-taught winemaker with the help of good mentors.”
Moving to Italy, he brought with him a passion for the land and winemaking.“I was addicted to working outside and living in the middle of a peaceful forest,” he says.
James arrived at Tenuta Licinia in 2019 and began researching the nature of different Tuscan subsoil-vine interactions to improve the quality of wines. He hoped to substitute an “old-school view of winemaking” with a more contemporary approach.
Differentiating Tenuta Licinia from most other Tuscan wineries, he steadfastly focused on these subsoils to identify small, overlooked parcels with world-class potential.
After the 2020 harvest, James shortened the aging process and refocused the blending on a more specific subsoil delineation.
About Sasso di Fata Wine
Sasso di Fata Wine
After finding the right harmony between viticulture, extraction, and aging, Tenuta Licinia was able to finally release its first cru, Sasso di Fata.
This wine reflects James’ effort to bring the consumer a small, single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2019 vintage was part of a new movement by Tuscan vintners to improve the quality of Tuscan Cabernet. Tenuta Licinia’s Sasso di Fata is made with 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot grapes.
The 2021 vintage showcases the vineyard’s identity with an intense floral aroma, minerality from the slate and graphite subsoils, and velvety tannins.
The winery employs biodynamic practices with very low yields and has attained organic certification. Due to the size of the harvest, distribution is quite limited. The winemaker maintains a firm eye on ecology to preserve wildlife and the health of the ecosystem.
Tenuta Licinia offers bespoke wine tastings and vineyard tours by reservation. A visit to this boutique winery, Lucignano, and the broader agricultural area makes for a pleasant and relaxing day trip, a counterpoint to more crowded Italian cities during the busy tourist seasons.