Earlier this year I attended a virtual tasting hosted by Studio Cru and Tenuta Licinia led by owner and winemaker, James Marshall Lockyer. Tenuta Licinia sits at about 1,180 feet above sea level and is located at the foothills of the Apennines on the deep fertile hills bordering the Valdichiana near the town of Lucignano in the Arezzo province.
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| Lucignano - sourced from Wikipedia |
Tenuta Licinia came about in an unplanned manner. James’s grandfathers had made friends with Italians that were living in Brussels where he resided in the 1960s. In the
70’s his Italian friends invited him to Tuscany and during his trip was asked if he would be interested
in restoring one of their old farms. His
grandfather at that time was a lawyer and was tempted so decided to purchase the 3 hectare
parcel of land. The neighbors had
informed him that the land that he purchased used to make good wine. He was doubtful, but his interest in wine,
vineyards and subsoils grew throughout his travels in Italy and he saw similarities in what he was discovering in comparison to the land that he had acquired.
He decided to replant the land with Cabernet Sauvignon because he was Belgium and French so it what he was
brought on, plus he was a fan of Burgundian wines. The soils he was planting on were a yellow
galestro soil, that was a type of chalky slate soil. This particular soil was known
for producing fantastic wines in other areas of southern Tuscany.
James's grandfather eventually acquired another 1.5 hectares next door. The environment surrounding these vineyards were encompassed by forests and rather isolated without any nearby neighbors. It's a wild, green environment with much wildlife to include wolves and wild boars. Even at one point they had some kangaroos that had escaped a nearby farm James shared with us.
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| Overview of Tenuta Licinia's estate |
James took over from
his grandfather and replanted the vineyards of Sasso di Fata in 2006. The vines have been certified organic since
they were planted and the winery also follows biodynamics in their
vineyards. The style of wine that Tenuta Licinia aims for is what they describe
as a “clos style: strong aromatic definitions and intensity as well as strong vineyard-centric
mineral properties”. Their aim is for
less extraction and to keep the fruit fresh showing the aromatics and minerals.
The Wines
We tasted the following wines with James:
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2019 Sasso di Fata Toscana Rosso IGT
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2021 Sasso di Fata Toscana Rosso IGT
Let’s take a further look at them.
Where does the name Sasso di Fata come from?
The field where Sasso di Fata is located is called Meleto, which is a famous name of a winery in Chianti Classico, Castello di Meleto. Since they couldn't use that name that was being utilized James called the local village historian to see what information he could dig up to help in naming these wines. The historian had informed him that in the Middle of the Ages there was a sand stone called Sasso di Fata from the area that vaguely has the face of a fairy in it. Hence the name Sasso di Fata, which translates to stone of the fairies.
The Sasso di Fata wines were the first cru wines for Tenuta
Licinia that took 15 years to make in order for them to find the perfect
harmony that they were seeking. That
there is a labor of love! Three things for James that identify the Sasso di
Fata wines are the floral aromas of rose, the minerality showing saline and
graphite notes, and a velvety finish and texture.
The 2019 Sasso di Fata Toscana Rosso IGT was the first wine labeled and released to the market. James made this with his grandfather. His grandfather made 90% of the wine before he became ill with James finishing off the rest. This wine was considered their “prototype” that showed elements from the various vineyards and the characteristics they were looking for, but without the maximum expressions of the grapes. They extracted less since they picked early or as James called it "al dente".
In 2020 James’s grandfather became ill so the next vintage they made was the 2021 Sasso di Fata Toscana Rosso IGT. James stated that this wine “ is closer to the finished product they are looking for with all the bones” in a harmonious way. This is considered their flagship wine and comes from about 6-7 acres. A different blend than the prior, this wine is made up of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot. James called this an “alternative to the Super Tuscan” wines.
James expressed that his ideal blend of the Sasso di Fata wines would be 50-55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30-35% Cabernet Franc for the aromatics, with the remaining blend consisting of Merlot. Unfortunately with the 2021 vintage they lost a lot of their Cabernet Franc grapes.
The 2021 Sasso di Fata was a deep ruby color with highlights of purple. I loved the floral aromatics on this one as I found it more intense than the 2019 vintage full of juicy blackberries. Full-bodied with great savory notes on the palate. Firm tannins with a good acid backbone.
Both wines run about $72-74 SRP.