Tuscany’s Modern Masters
Luce, Ornellaia & More with VINTUS
Wine Wednesday, September 30, 2026 | 5:00–7:00 PM
It is not every day that an in-store tasting offers the chance to experience both Luce and Ornellaia, two of Tuscany’s most celebrated wines. This Wednesday, we are thrilled to welcome Erin Williams of VINTUS for an extraordinary exploration of Tuscan wine, from the forested mountains northeast of Florence to Montalcino’s ancient hills and the Mediterranean coast of Bolgheri.
Founded in 2004, VINTUS built its reputation around exceptional, estate-based producers and what it calls “wines of place.” Its portfolio brings together historic families, visionary estates, and many of the benchmark wines of their respective regions. The company’s relationship with Tuscany is especially impressive, encompassing estates that have helped define both the region’s traditions and its modern transformation.
Our four wines reveal just how varied Tuscany can be: high-elevation Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco from Pomino, a vibrant coastal red from Le Macchiole, the pioneering marriage of Sangiovese and Merlot in Luce, and the remarkable depth and refinement of Ornellaia.
The Florentine Mountains: Pomino
Northeast of Florence, the vineyards of Pomino climb into the foothills of the Apennines. Vines reach elevations of approximately 700 meters and are surrounded by forests of fir, chestnut, and sequoia. Cool nights, mountain air, and bright sunlight create an unusually fresh environment for Tuscan viticulture, particularly for white grapes.
Pomino’s reputation is far older than its modern DOC. In 1716, Grand Duke Cosimo III de’ Medici identified it as one of Tuscany’s four most distinguished wine-growing territories, alongside Chianti, Carmignano, and Val d’Arno di Sopra. The Frescobaldi family’s Castello Pomino estate dates to 1500 and remains one of Tuscany’s historic homes for Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco.
2024 Frescobaldi Pomino Bianco
Pomino DOC
Pomino Bianco combines Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco, fermented primarily in temperature-controlled stainless steel with a small portion fermented in French oak. The steel protects the wine’s freshness and perfume, while the barrel-fermented component adds a gentle creamy texture.
The 2024 opens with white flowers, hawthorn, wisteria, and magnolia, followed by crisp apple, pear, and fresh citrus. The palate is refined and energetic, balancing its subtle creaminess with bright acidity, savory minerality, and a clean, lightly saline finish.
Why We’re Pouring It
This is a side of Tuscany that many wine drinkers rarely encounter. Pomino Bianco demonstrates that the region is capable of producing white wines with genuine mountain freshness, precision, and longevity. It also introduces the Frescobaldi family, whose more than 700 years of Tuscan wine history provide an important thread through this tasting.
The Mediterranean Coast: Bolgheri
We descend from the mountains to Bolgheri, on Tuscany’s Etruscan Coast. Here, vineyards sit between wooded hills and the Tyrrhenian Sea. Long, dry summers ripen Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Syrah, while cooling sea breezes preserve fragrance and acidity.
Bolgheri’s soils are remarkably varied, with marine sediments, clay, sand, gravel, alluvial deposits, and pockets of volcanic material. The region’s finest wines combine Bordeaux-like structure with a distinctly Mediterranean character: ripe fruit, aromatic herbs, savory earth, and polished tannins.
Le Macchiole is one of Bolgheri’s pioneering estates. Eugenio Campolmi and Cinzia Merli founded it in 1983, when the region’s modern identity was still taking shape. After Eugenio’s untimely death, Cinzia continued their work and developed Le Macchiole into one of Tuscany’s benchmark producers. She now leads the organically farmed estate with their sons, Elia and Mattia.
2024 Le Macchiole Bolgheri Rosso
Bolgheri Rosso DOC
Le Macchiole describes its Bolgheri Rosso as the estate’s purest and most direct expression of the region. The 2024 brings together Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and, for the first time, a small amount of Sangiovese added to heighten freshness.
The wine ferments and macerates in stainless steel for 15 days, followed by ten months of aging divided between seasoned barriques and concrete. This restrained cellar approach keeps the emphasis on fragrance, energy, and the personality of the vineyards.
Bright cherry, red plum, blackberry, wildflowers, and sweet Mediterranean herbs lead into a medium-bodied palate with lively acidity. The tannins are fine but firm, providing structure without sacrificing the wine’s fluid, inviting character. Earth, tobacco, and a subtle balsamic note emerge on the persistent finish.
Why We’re Pouring It
Le Macchiole’s flagship wines, Paleo, Messorio, and Scrio, are among Bolgheri’s most admired expressions of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Syrah. This Rosso offers a more accessible view of the same meticulous farming and winemaking. It captures Bolgheri’s generosity while retaining the refinement and freshness that distinguish Le Macchiole.
Montalcino Beyond Brunello
Montalcino is inseparable from Sangiovese and Brunello, but its landscape is far from uniform. Elevation, exposure, and soil composition vary dramatically across the region. Higher vineyards contain galestro, schist, and friable limestone well suited to Sangiovese, while lower sites with greater clay content provide an excellent home for Merlot.
Tenuta Luce began with a meeting between two enormously influential wine families: Vittorio Frescobaldi of Tuscany and Robert Mondavi of Napa Valley. Their goal was to create a new expression of Montalcino by marrying the structure, freshness, and Tuscan identity of Sangiovese with the depth and suppleness of Merlot. First produced from the 1993 vintage, Luce became the first major Montalcino wine built around this combination.
2023 Tenuta Luce
Toscana IGT, Montalcino
The 2023 Luce is composed of Merlot and Sangiovese, with Merlot providing breadth and dark-fruited richness while Sangiovese contributes acidity, structure, and aromatic lift. The varieties are vinified separately before the wine receives extended maturation in French oak barriques.
Ripe red cherry and darker berry fruit meet cedar, sweet spice, cocoa, and subtle balsamic notes. The palate is rich and enveloping, but a current of lively acidity keeps the wine poised. Its tannins are abundant yet silky and beautifully integrated, leading to a long, layered finish combining fruit, spice, and mineral tension.
Why We’re Pouring It
Luce is a landmark in modern Tuscan wine. It does not reject Montalcino’s Sangiovese tradition; it reinterprets it by pairing Sangiovese’s energy with Merlot’s depth. The result is powerful and polished, but still unmistakably connected to the hills of Montalcino.
The Summit of Bolgheri
We return to the Tuscan coast for one of Italy’s most prestigious wines. Ornellaia was established in 1981, and its flagship wine debuted with the 1985 vintage. The estate quickly became one of the defining names of Bolgheri and helped establish the region among the world’s great sources of Cabernet- and Merlot-based wine.
The estate’s vineyards lie only a few miles from the Mediterranean and are divided into more than 70 individual parcels according to soil, exposure, and grape variety. Each parcel is harvested and vinified separately, allowing the final blend to capture Bolgheri’s complex mosaic of marine, alluvial, clay, gravel, and volcanic-influenced soils.
2023 Ornellaia
Bolgheri DOC Superiore
The 2023 Ornellaia blends 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 7% Petit Verdot. Every variety and vineyard parcel is vinified separately before selection and blending. The wine matures for 18 months in French oak, with the final blend returning to barrel for further integration.
Deeply colored and expressive, the wine offers ripe blueberry, blackberry, and other dark fruits layered with toasted almond, cocoa, cedar, and Mediterranean herbs such as rosemary and thyme. It is concentrated and mouth-filling, yet remarkably polished, with vibrant freshness running through its richness.
The tannins are silky, finely sculpted, and built for a long evolution in the cellar. Despite its power, the wine retains finesse and balance, finishing with exceptional length, savory complexity, and persistent dark fruit.
Why We’re Pouring It
Ornellaia is not simply one of Bolgheri’s most famous wines; it is one of the estates that defined what Bolgheri could become. Pouring the 2023 offers a rare opportunity to experience a great collectible wine at the beginning of its life and to compare it directly with the more immediate expression of the region found in Le Macchiole’s Bolgheri Rosso.
Four Perspectives on Tuscan Greatness
These four wines trace Tuscany’s evolution without losing sight of its history. Pomino shows the elegance and freshness possible in the Florentine mountains. Le Macchiole captures the energy and Mediterranean character of coastal Bolgheri. Luce unites Montalcino’s native Sangiovese with Merlot in a pioneering modern classic. Ornellaia brings the journey to its summit with a wine of extraordinary depth, precision, and longevity.
Join Erin Williams of VINTUS and the Boulder Wine Merchant team for a rare opportunity to experience four remarkable Tuscan estates, and two of Italy’s most celebrated wines, in a single tasting.
Wine Wednesday
Wednesday, September 30, 2026 | 5:00–7:00 PM
Explore. Taste. Learn.