Tenuta di Biserno Lodovico IGT

When Lodovico Antinori sold Ornellaia and turned his attention to the stonier, hillier terrain of Bibbona, he made a deliberate break from the Bolgheri template he had helped define — placing Cabernet Franc at the heart of the blend rather than Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. The Lodovico is the estate's ultra-premium expression, drawn exclusively from the Vigna Lodovico parcel and produced only in exceptional years. The vineyard sits at approximately 90 m elevation on gravelly, calcium-carbonate-rich soils laced with the mineral-dense Bolgheri Conglomerate, where constant Tyrrhenian Sea breezes suppress summer humidity and compress the diurnal range — conditions that drive aromatic precision and structural tension rather than sheer weight. Vinification follows temperature-controlled maceration in stainless steel for 3–4 weeks at a maximum of 28°C, with spontaneous malolactic fermentation conducted partly in barrique; aging runs 15 months in French oak barriques, approximately 70% new, followed by a minimum 12 months in bottle. The special feature: this is the only major coastal Tuscan estate to anchor its prestige cuvée in Cabernet Franc — a variety that, on these gravelly upper slopes, delivers Mediterranean herb intensity (rosemary, lavender, balsamic) alongside a mineral precision no Merlot-dominant neighbour replicates. The 2018 vintage is not individually documented in the estate's published notes, but the wine's architecture — firm, fine-grained tannins and coastal freshness — suggests a drinking window from approximately 2024 through 2035+.