Tenuta Licinia

Tenuta Licinia is located at the foot of the Tuscan Apennines near the village of Lucignano, on the border between the provinces of Siena and Arezzo. The property consists of 60 hectares of woodland, 6.5 hectares of vineyards and 3 hectares of olive groves. The vines were planted in 2007 by Jacques de Liedekerke and the winemaker is now James Marshall-Lockyer, his grandson. The winery produces small selections of wines on different subsoil qualities. Biodynamic practices are followed.

Before arriving at Licinia two years ago, James was working on his PhD in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Oxford, where his research focused on the foundations of ethics and the nature of value. In oenology, his research interests center on the nature of the subsoil/vineyard interaction. When the opportunity arose, he decided he wanted to take over his grandfather's project, which he had been involved with for many years.

The Tenuta Licinia vineyard is located on a highly friable stratified clayey shale-galestro subsoil. It is a terroir capable of giving the cabernet a peculiar graphite and saline dimension in addition to the specific note of rose petal.

In the cellar, a delicate extraction and a moderate use of wood for refinement are favored.

James has also decided to develop a new cru project: after examining over 100 vineyards in the local region, he has finally identified a small plot of about 1 hectare with a calcareous subsoil, which he believes can produce exceptional territorial Sangiovese wines. The first vintage of this “Montalceto” wine will be 2023.