Tenuta di Biserno Winery
“Cabernet Franc is the essence of Biserno.”
Christoph Raffelt (wine writer)
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Hardly anyone has shaped the recent history of the Tuscan coast as much as Lodovico Antinori. In the 1980s, he founded Ornellaia and, with Masseto, created two wines that are now among Italy’s greatest names. When, in the mid-1990s, he came across some land near Bibbona, a few kilometres north of Bolgheri, he once again recognised the potential of a terroir that was, at the time, largely untapped. Initially, the site was intended as a possible extension of Ornellaia. However, the geological differences were so marked that it eventually became a project in its own right. In 2001, Lodovico and his brother Piero Antinori, together with their nephew Niccolò Marzichi Lenzi, founded Tenuta di Biserno. After decades in which the two brothers had pursued separate paths in viticulture, this project brought them back together. Today, Niccolò Marzichi Lenzi is the managing director, whilst Lodovico Antinori serves as honorary president.
The vineyards are situated in the Alta Maremma in the municipality of Bibbona, immediately north of the border with Bolgheri. Geographically, the distance is short, but geologically there are marked differences. The soils of the Biserno project are exceptionally diverse, ranging from alluvial and marine deposits containing sand and clay to formations of volcanic and aeolian origin. Added to this are varying altitudes, exposures and distances from the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The heart of the estate, the Tenuta di Biserno itself, covers around 40 hectares at an altitude of approximately 90 metres. The vineyards are characterised primarily by alluvial soils, as well as those rich in clay and limestone. The varieties grown are Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. It became apparent early on that Cabernet Franc thrives exceptionally well here. On the higher, grittier soils, this variety retains its freshness and aromatic precision, whilst Merlot finds its niche on the lower, clay- and limestone-rich sites. Cabernet Franc, in particular, has therefore become something of a leitmotif for Biserno and is also featured at the start of this text as a quote from Ludovico. He deliberately set out not to create a copy of the wines from Bolgheri. Instead, grape varieties, clones and rootstocks were matched as precisely as possible to the individual soils. The proximity to the sea provides additional cooling breezes and extends the ripening period – important conditions for Bordeaux varieties in the warm Maremma.
This approach also gave rise to ‘Biserno’, the estate’s most representative wine: a cuvée of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot, produced from the estate’s finest plots. ‘Il Pino di Biserno’ interprets the same terroir in a somewhat more direct and accessible way. What both have in common is their emphasis on dark fruit, Mediterranean spice, ripe tannins and that freshness which lends balance to the finest wines of the Tuscan coast.
© Images: Tenuta di Biserno Winery
