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Wine Spectator 91 points
"A refined, elegant young red, with superclean black fruit, black cherry and a good dose of new oak that gives a vanilla edge to the fruit on the medium-to-full palate. This is superintense. Needs time. Best after 2009." –JS 10/15/2008

Wine Advocate 88 points
"The estate’s 2005 Chianti Classico Riserva Lucius adds Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to the Sangiovese. This French oak-aged Chianti offers excellent length and minerality, with a profile that tends towards an expression of dark fruit. Today the tannins clamp down on the finish, but there seems to be a nice sense of inner sweetness that needs a little bottle age to emerge. The Lucius is the most internationally-styled of the house’s Chiantis. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2020. " Antonio Galloni, #177 6/08

Winemaker Notes

The Riserva Lucius was the result of the desire to accompany the classic Riserva with another Riserva Chianti Classico, with particular characteristics, made from the finest Sangiovese grapes combined with Cabernet and Merlot. The wine is named in honour of the co-founder of the Viticcio estate. The Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet grapes are vinified separately using selected yeasts that vary according to the grape variety. Delestage and pumping over are carried out according to the characteristics of the grapes for a period ( fermentation and maceration) ranging from 22 to 28 days. When the malolactic fermentation is complete, the wines are blended and transferred into 300-litre barrels made French and American oak, where it matures for about 18 months. The wine is then aged in horizontally-stored bottles for a further 6 months.

Fattoria Viticcio in Tuscany has long been the darling of the Wine Spectator and Wine & Spirits magazines. Although it has had years of great press and its wines are priced significantly below neighboring estates in Chianti Classico, their wines were still only available in five U.S. states. What they truly needed was somebody to get their message out on a national scale, and for this they sought out the team at Sherbrooke Cellars. The Landini family have some of the finest vineyard holdings in the famed Greve in Chianti area, and with the recent acquisition of an estate in Bolgheri, I Greppi, plus significant upgrades in the cellars and vineyards, they will prove to be an important winery to watch for years to come.

Founded in 1960 by Lucio and Franca Landini, the Viticcio Estate still stands above the picturesque town of Greve, in the heart of the Chianti Classico region. Their focus is to produce high-quality wines worthy of an international clientele while at the same time respecting the traditions and viticulture of the region. This focus remains the same today under the direction of the second generation, Alessandro Landini.

The estate comprises more than 30 hectares of vines, all of which are farmed organically. Additionally, seven of those hectares are farmed biodynamically. Alessandro strongly believes that in order to produce high-quality wines you must first respect the land in which the vines are planted. To this end he uses no pesticides in his vineyards and fertilizes by planting things such as fava beans and barley between the rows of vines, allowing them to flower, and then plowing them back into the soil to add important nutrients. A handful of wines see some time in the smaller barriques, but the large majority is aged in large botti. The wines of Viticcio represent an important combination of traditional, time-honored techniques with modern-day technology and respect for the environment.