2017 Tenuta Lenzini ‘Casa e Chiesa’ Merlot DOC Organic

Color Bright ruby red

Aroma Fresh and ripe red fruit, sapid and blood veins, minerality

Taste Simple and drinkable, gastronomic and daily soul supported by great freshness

Vineyards in Gragnano on clayey and sandy soils. Organic and biodynamic agriculture

Vinification Spontaneous alcoholic fermentation in tubs for 12-15 days without temperature control. In the bottle without stabilization or filtration

Aging 24 months in steel and concrete tanks

Production philosophy Biological, Artisan, Indigenous yeasts, Independent Winegrowers

From the producer

Tenuta Lenzini extends for 24 hectares in the town of Gragnano in the splendid hills of Lucca, set in a natural amphitheater that frames it, determining its particular microclimate.

Composed of 13 hectares of vineyards and 4 of olive groves, the property finds its origin in the 16th century. The property of the Arnolfini spouses, the famous spouses portrayed by Van Eyck in the work exhibited at the British Museum in London, was from the very beginning the production hub for wine and oil in this part of the plain.

The Via Francigena also passed here; the Napoleonic troops and the Bonapartes themselves walked in these places that we now cultivate; and this is one of the reasons, in addition to the undeniable international vocation of our terroir, for which we have chosen to plant merlot, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, alicante bouschet, respecting the choices made by those who before us had taken care of this wonderful amphitheater .

We owe the beginning of our personal story entirely to grandfather Franco, Franco Lenzini, who was able to see more than others, betting on the rebirth of a place left in total abandonment; carrying out the restructuring, until it becomes even more fascinating.

In fact, in this land it is easy to get lost in the breath of a time that was; easy when the sun goes down to find yourself listening to a silence that has no age, but instead has a great memory.

Today, Benedetta, Franco's granddaughter, is at the helm of the company.

Together with my husband Michele Guarino, we strive every day to create expressive wines, wines in which the impact of man becomes non-existent, and where nature takes shape and substance.

In fact, since 2007 the company has undergone a profound change with us: first organic management, then the inevitable transition to biodynamic philosophy.

Inevitable, because our interest in a living, vital land becomes inevitable, capable of giving intense fruit, with a great expressive capacity ... and all without the aid of chemistry, of artifices.