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Artisan.wine · Frescobaldi & Mondavi · Tuscany
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After Saturday's "Best of the Best" Masterclass
Tuscany's Opus One.
Frescobaldi (since 1308) joined forces with Robert Mondavi in 1995 to create Luce della Vite — the Italian counterpart to the Mondavi–Mouton partnership behind Opus One. No expense spared. A fraction of the price of its peers.
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Dear Wine Lover,
At last Saturday's "Best of the Best" masterclass, we opened a Luce flight that quietly stole the room. Within an hour, every Luce we poured was sold out at the table, and our most experienced collectors were walking out with cases of the Lucente tucked under their arms. After the dust settled, this is what we have left for the rest of you.
The story is the simplest one in modern Tuscan wine. In 1995, Vittorio Frescobaldi — head of one of Italy's oldest noble wine families, in the trade since 1308 — joined forces with Napa Valley icon Robert Mondavi to create a Tuscan estate in Montalcino called Luce della Vite. It was the exact same partnership architecture Mondavi had built with Mouton-Rothschild a decade earlier to create Opus One in Napa. Same first-name Mondavi. Same no-expense-spared philosophy. Same iconic single-word brand. Same 100% new French oak. Different price tag.
✦ ✦ ✦
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The Trilogy
2021 · 2022 · 2023 — arguably the greatest three-vintage run in Tuscan history.
2021 arrived structured, classical, and built to last — the vintage trade publications are already calling a future "reference point." James Suckling put Luce's 2021 Brunello at 99 points, a score not seen on this label before. 2022 followed with the kind of warm, concentrated season Tuscany hasn't seen since the legendary 2015/2016 run — aromatic depth, ripe tannins, true cellar wines. 2023 delivered the fresh, perfumed, immediately accessible counterpoint that finishes a great trilogy — juicy, drinkable, profound.
The four wines below span the trilogy — Lucente and Luce from 2023, Luce and Brunello from 2021. Each one is a portrait of its vintage from the same hand.
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The Four Wines
Listed in the order our collectors reached for them on Saturday night.
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The Value · Collectors Bought it by the Case
Selling Fast · Replenishing
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Tenuta Luce della Vite · Montalcino
"Lucente" IGT 2023
60% Merlot, 40% Sangiovese · The second wine of Luce
The wine that emptied the masterclass table on Saturday. Lucente is the second wine of Luce — same vineyards, same hand, same 100% French oak philosophy — crafted from younger vines after the best fruit goes into the flagship. Five major critics put it at 91 to 95 points. Our most experienced collectors looked at the scores, looked at the price, and walked out with cases. At $26.99, it is the easiest "yes" in Tuscany right now.
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95Suckling
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93Dunnuck
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92Decanter
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91Advocate
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91Vinous
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95 Points · James Suckling
"A juicy and delicious wine with aromas of black cherries, walnuts, flint, graphite and matchsticks. Medium-bodied with creamy and refined tannins and a pretty finish. Inky aftertaste with some iodine. 60% merlot and 40% sangiovese. Drink or hold."
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92 Points · Decanter · Michaela Morris
"Crafted from the estate's younger vines, Lucente exalts a pure fruit expression. It bursts with blackcurrant and dark red cherry, while scents of mint, cedar and grilled tobacco lend intrigue. Smooth and suave, the palate pops with sweet, sun-warmed berries infused with chopped garden herbs and a whisper of vanilla. As engaging as it is affable."
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$26.99
Per bottle · case-buy territory
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The Super-Tuscan Legend · Frozen Pricing
12 Bottles In Stock
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Tenuta Luce della Vite · Montalcino
"Luce" Toscana Rosso IGT 2023
50% Sangiovese, 50% Merlot · 100% French oak · the flagship
The flagship of the estate — the first wine in Montalcino history to blend Sangiovese and Merlot, made from sandstone-limestone Sangiovese parcels at 1,500 feet and clay-grown Merlot at lower altitude. The most striking fact about Luce is the one nobody talks about: the price has barely moved in decades while Sassicaia, Ornellaia, Tignanello, and Solaia have quadrupled or more. The 2023 is the lightest, most aromatic vintage of the trilogy — pure red and blue fruit, spice, cedar, sweet tannin.
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93+Vinous · Eric Guido
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93Decanter · M. Morris
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93+ Points · Vinous · Eric Guido
"Dark and brooding, the 2023 Luce has a spicy bouquet of cedar spicebox, incense, lavender pastille and balsamic-tinged black cherries. Tactile minerals and sweet tannins offset polished textures and radiant red/blue fruits. It finishes long, staining and structured, with a subtle citrus tinge that adds tension and a bump of residual acidity that maintains freshness and balance."
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93 Points · Decanter · Michaela Morris
"Frescobaldi's Merlot-meets-Sangiovese Super Tuscan, Luce has been fine-tuned over its 30-year-plus lifespan but its boldly fashioned soul is unwavering. The dense yet restrained nose suggests dark ripe fruit studded with nutmeg and clove… The palate gives a jolt of upfront vanilla and sweet spice carried by broad, velvety tannins."
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$109.99
Per bottle · 12 in stock
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The Brunello · JS 99
Highest Score in Luce History
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Tenuta Luce della Vite · Montalcino
Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2021
100% Sangiovese · from a single 400m galestro site · aged in large cask & cement
The wine that anchored Saturday's tasting and triggered the frenzy. The estate's tribute to Montalcino is 100% Sangiovese, from a single high-elevation parcel on galestro soil, fermented in cement and aged for 24 months in large Slavonian cask — the estate moved away from barriques specifically to preserve aromatic freshness. James Suckling scored it 99 points — the highest score ever given to a Luce wine. Falstaff 98. Wine Spectator 95. Jeb Dunnuck 95. The reviews don't stop. Only 275 cases imported to the U.S.
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99Suckling
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98Falstaff
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95Dunnuck
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95Spectator
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94Vinous
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94Decanter
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93Advocate
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99 Points · James Suckling · Highest Score in Luce History
"Sweet berry, orange peel, nutmeg and cinnamon aromas. It's medium-bodied with fine, precise tannins and a very long finish that caresses every inch of your palate. Extremely long and structured but refined and sophisticated. Best after 2027."
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95 Points · Wine Spectator · Bruce Sanderson · Drink Through 2047
"Well-defined aromas and flavors of cherry, raspberry and blackberry highlight this smooth, graceful red. Mineral and wild scrub notes emerge as this gathers steam midpalate. Ends with plenty of energy and freshness. Best from 2029 through 2047. 275 cases imported."
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95 Points · Jeb Dunnuck · Drink 2026–2046
"From a single high-elevation site at roughly 400 meters on galestro… pure notes of kirsch, blood orange, pressed flowers, and ripe raspberries. The palate is medium to full-bodied and beautifully polished, with refined tannins, refreshing acidity, and a light-on-its-feet feel that carries through the long finish. Should drink beautifully for 15 years or more."
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$149.99
Per bottle · selling fast, replenishing
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Last Call · The 2021 Flagship
Only 19 Bottles Left
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Tenuta Luce della Vite · Montalcino · LAST CALL
"Luce" Toscana 2021
50% Sangiovese, 50% Merlot · 24 months in 80% new barrique
The classical-vintage Luce, from the structured 2021 season that gave the estate its highest-ever Brunello score. Aged 24 months in 80% new oak. JS 96 / WS 95 / DM 95. WS rated it to drink through 2042; Suckling says "best after 2027." With only 850 cases imported to the U.S., this is the cellar bottle of the trilogy — and we're down to 19 bottles at Artisan.
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96James Suckling
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95Wine Spectator
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95Decanter
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95 Points · Wine Spectator · Drink Through 2042
"Aromas and flavors of lavender, plum, black cherry, vanilla, earth and resin are the hallmarks of this concentrated yet lively red. Firm, ripe tannins give the finish grip for now, yet this red is complex and long, with all of its components in the right place. Best from 2026 through 2042. 10,833 cases made, 850 cases imported."
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$119.99
Per bottle · only 19 left
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After the masterclass dust settles
Four Luce bottles.
One Opus One–style partnership.
The 95-point Lucente at $26.99. The 93+ Luce 2023 flagship at $109.99. The 99-point Brunello at $149.99. And the 96-point Luce 2021 at $119.99 — 19 bottles only.
Lucente $26.99 · Luce 2023 $109.99 · Luce 2021 $119.99 · Brunello $149.99
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All my best,
James Tran
Artisan.wine
P.S. If Saturday's masterclass is any indication, the Lucente at $26.99 is going to keep selling in case quantities. The 2021 Luce flagship at 19 bottles is genuinely the bottom of the well — when it clears, it's gone. Questions? Text 650-880-3553.
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Artisan.wine
artisan.wine
Chat → artisan.wine/?chat · Email → sales@artisan.wine
Text → 650-880-3553 · Phone → 650-917-8080
Please enjoy responsibly · Must be 21+ · Allocation limited; pricing & availability subject to change
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