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Tenuta Castelbuono (Tenute Lunelli)

Umbria, Italy

Ethos: In harmony with nature.

The Lord and Governor of Lunelli Estates is Time
Fascinated by the ancient and almost mystical region of Umbria and by a wine of extraordinary power and longevity as Sagrantino, the Lunelli family purchased Tenuta Castelbuono, an estate with 30 hectares of vineyards in the communes of Bevagna and Montefalco in 2001. Over time the vineyards were converted to organic farming and new vines were planted to improve the quality of the existing ones by means of a widespread clonal selection project. The first wine, Montefalco Sagrantino, was launched in 2003, followed a year later by Montefalco Rosso.

Your visit

To visit the winery at Tenuta Castelbuono (by prior arrangement) is to enter a living sculpture. The ‘Carapace’ - as the winery is known - took six years to build and was designed by the Italian sculptor, Arnaldo Pomodoro. It is a unique work of art that toys with the boundaries between sculpture and architecture. It is the first sculpture in the world in which people live and work, a unique space in which art and nature, sculpture and wine intermingle, underlining the exceptional nature of both the containing structure and its contents. From the outside it appears as a large copper-covered dome, engraved with fissures that remind one of the furrows in the earth that surrounds it. A sculpted element in the form of a red dart plunging into the soil highlights the work’s place in the landscape. Entering the ‘Carapace’ is to penetrate one of Pomodoro’s sculptures. This is a distinctive, special winery for distinctive, special wines.

The wines

Montefalco Sagrantino is a typical expression of a grape variety that is absolutely unique in terms of power and longevity. This wine amazes with its powerful mellow fruit, clearly defined tannins of rare finesse, elegance and gentleness.
Lampante Montefalco Rosso Riserva blends Sagrantino with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to great effect resulting in an intriguing wine with scents of wild violets and brandy-soaked cherries and sweet spice against a background of graphite.
Ziggurat Montefalco Rosso explores the blending potential of Sangiovese and shows elegance and splendid balance, cherries and cloves.
Passito from this region was originally vinified only for religious purposes. Today Castelbuono’s fragrant Montefalco Sagrantino Passito - made from semi-dried Sagrantino grapes partially dried on racks - may still best be thought of as a wine for meditation.

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