Italy · Chianti Hills

Tenuta di Lilliano

Family-owned Chianti Classico estate bottling Sangiovese from Alberese limestone since 1958, with a three-tier range from vintage Chianti Classico to Gran Selezione.

The producer

Tenuta di Lilliano is a 40-hectare estate in the Chianti Classico zone of Tuscany, co-owned by brothers Giulio and Pietro Ruspoli, with Giulio managing since 1989. The first estate-bottled Chianti Classico was made in 1958 by Princess Eleonora Ruspoli Berlingieri and Giulio Gambelli, a Sangiovese specialist. That founding decision put Sangiovese on Alberese marly limestone at 280 to 300 metres, fermented in concrete, and matured in large oak.

Three named vineyards cover distinct aspects across the property. Le Piagge grows Sangiovese on a south-facing slope at 300 metres; Casina Sopra Strada holds Sangiovese and Colorino at the same altitude facing east-southeast; Vigna Catena is a dedicated Merlot parcel at 280 metres facing south-southwest. Agronomist Stefano Porcinai oversees the vineyards; oenologist Lorenzo Landi selects and manages the wines. The range runs from a vintage Chianti Classico blended from 90% Sangiovese, 5% Colorino and 5% Merlot through a Riserva aged in large oak barrels under the villa to a Gran Selezione of 100% Sangiovese matured in tonneaux.

Known for

Chianti Classico DOCG, Sangiovese-dominant, three tiers, Alberese limestone.

Notable facts

The story

First Vintage, 1958

In 1958, Princess Eleonora Ruspoli Berlingieri decided that Lilliano's Sangiovese should carry a label. The estate had vineyards and the family had the land, but the grapes had always gone to bulk. She brought in Giulio Gambelli, who was already building the reputation in Tuscany that would eventually make him the most sought-after Sangiovese consultant of his generation, and together they made and bottled the first Chianti Classico under the Lilliano name. Gambelli would go on to work with Montevertine, Castello di Fonterutoli, and dozens of other estates across the Classico zone. At Lilliano, he was there at the beginning, before any of that reputation had fully landed, helping a princess decide what a bottle of Sangiovese from this limestone hill should taste like.

From the atlas

Tenuta di Lilliano

At A Glance

The Producer

Tenuta di Lilliano is a family estate in the Chianti Classico zone of Tuscany, co-owned by brothers Giulio and Pietro Ruspoli. Giulio has managed it since 1989; his nephew Alessandro represents the estate on international markets. The Ruspoli name carries centuries of central Italian aristocracy, but what anchors Lilliano in wine terms is a single decision made in 1958: Princess Eleonora Ruspoli Berlingieri chose to bottle the estate's Sangiovese rather than sell it in bulk, and she made that first vintage alongside Giulio Gambelli, the most widely respected Sangiovese interpreter of mid-century Tuscany.

That founding act set the template. Forty hectares, a dominant Sangiovese planting, Alberese marly limestone soils at 280 to 300 metres above sea level, and a clear three-tier range from vintage Chianti Classico through Riserva to Gran Selezione. Today, agronomist Stefano Porcinai tends the vineyards while oenologist Lorenzo Landi selects and manages the wines.

Place

Chianti Classico is the historic core of the Chianti wine zone in central Tuscany, a DOCG appellation running between Florence and Siena whose best-known grape is Sangiovese. Lilliano sits at 280 to 300 metres above sea level, which moderates the heat enough to keep the Sangiovese's acidity firm and its fruit relatively compact. The elevation also slows ripening slightly, so the wines tend toward fresh red fruit rather than cooked dark fruit.

The soils here are Alberese, a Tuscan term for a marly limestone loaded with heavy stone. Stone-rich soils drain quickly and hold warmth during the day, but they also limit vine vigour, concentrating energy in smaller berry clusters with thicker skins. In the glass, Alberese sites in Chianti Classico tend to produce wines with moderate body, notable acidity, and a dry, slightly firm tannic line.

Soil And Site

Most of Lilliano's 40 hectares sit on Alberese marly limestone, a calcium-rich, stony parent rock common in the central Chianti Classico zone. The heavy stone content improves drainage and encourages the vine roots to push deeper for water, a condition that tends to reduce berry size and concentrate flavour in the fruit.

Three named vineyards cover different aspects across the estate. Le Piagge faces south and grows Sangiovese at approximately 300 metres. Casina Sopra Strada faces east-southeast at the same altitude and is planted to Sangiovese and Colorino, a small indigenous Tuscan variety used in blending. Vigna Catena faces south-southwest at approximately 280 metres and holds Merlot, the estate's single dedicated international-variety parcel.

Story

The Ruspoli family owned the Lilliano estate long before a wine bearing the name existed. It was Eleonora Ruspoli Berlingieri who changed that, deciding in the late 1950s that the estate's Sangiovese should carry a label and find a market as bottled wine rather than be sold loose. She enlisted Giulio Gambelli, the consulting oenologist who would go on to shape the careers of some of the most important Sangiovese estates in Tuscany over the following decades, and together they produced the first bottled vintage in 1958.

Giulio Ruspoli took over management in 1989, and the estate has operated with professional vineyard and cellar teams since. The range has grown to include a Riserva and Gran Selezione alongside the vintage Chianti Classico, while Super Tuscan bottlings aged in barriques expanded the estate's scope beyond the DOCG framework. The range now follows both the Chianti Classico classification hierarchy and a deliberate cellar logic: concrete and large oak for the entry and Riserva wines, tonneaux for the Gran Selezione.

Vineyards And Cellar

Fermentation and maceration for the Chianti Classico takes place in temperature-controlled concrete tanks over 18 to 20 days, depending on the vintage. Concrete keeps temperatures even and does not impose flavour on the wine, allowing the Sangiovese and Colorino to express the fruit character that comes from the limestone soils. Malolactic fermentation follows in concrete and small stainless steel tanks with temperature control.

After that, the vintage Chianti Classico matures for 12 to 14 months in a combination of large French oak casks and concrete, then spends at least three months in bottle before release. Large casks, as opposed to small barriques, allow slow and gentle oxygen exchange without adding significant wood flavour; the effect is a wine that softens and integrates rather than one that picks up obvious vanilla or toast character.

The Riserva matures in large oak barrels under the villa, in the estate's dedicated ageing cellar, a space separate from the working winemaking facility. The Gran Selezione matures in tonneaux, 500-litre casks that sit between large barrels and small barriques in their influence: slightly more oak contact than the Riserva vessel, but nothing close to the barrique extraction used for the Super Tuscan bottlings.

Wines

The Chianti Classico is the estate's broadest wine, blended from 90% Sangiovese, 5% Colorino and 5% Merlot, drawing fruit from across the estate's named parcels and general holdings. The Colorino adds colour and a slight depth of dark fruit to the Sangiovese base; the Merlot from Vigna Catena softens the mid-palate. The vintage Chianti Classico is described by the estate as fruity and floral with light spicy notes, which aligns with what the Alberese limestone and concrete fermentation tend to produce: fresh red cherry, a lifted floral note from Sangiovese, and a moderate spice character from the large-oak ageing.

The Chianti Classico Riserva moves into the large barrel cellar beneath the villa for an extended maturation, building more depth and length than the vintage bottling while staying within the same broad oak framework.

The Gran Selezione is drawn from named estate parcels and is currently 100% Sangiovese, a tighter, more focused expression than the blended Chianti Classico. Maturation in tonneaux gives it a slightly finer-grained oak contact, and the single-vineyard selection produces a more concentrated mid-palate. Above that, Super Tuscan bottlings aged in small barriques offer an international-variety alternative to the Sangiovese-led DOCG range.

In The Glass

Lilliano's Chianti Classico opens with red cherry, dried violet, and a light iron note that comes reliably from Sangiovese grown on limestone. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied, with a bright acidity that keeps the wine clean and fresh across the palate. The tannins are present but not grippy; the 18 to 20 days of maceration and the large-oak maturation produce a wine that is firm on the finish without being drying. The Colorino and Merlot in the blend round the mid-palate slightly and add a small amount of darker fruit to what is otherwise a red-fruit, high-acid expression.

Moving into the Riserva, the wine picks up more weight and a longer finish from the extended barrel time, while the underlying acidity and red-fruit character remain the estate's constant. The Gran Selezione narrows the palate: 100% Sangiovese from selected parcels produces a denser, more concentrated expression, with the tonneaux elevage adding a discreet wood note and a slightly silky texture that the concrete-matured wines do not have.

A Bottle To Understand It

The Chianti Classico is the bottle to start with. It carries the estate's character most plainly: Sangiovese on Alberese limestone, fermented in concrete, matured in large French oak, and bottled as a fruity, floral, spice-edged red that is neither heavy nor extracted. The 90/5/5 blend gives the wine its Sangiovese character without diluting it; the Colorino and Merlot play a supporting role. It is a wine with genuine acidity, moderate tannin, and a length that comfortably outlasts the fruit on the finish. Open it an hour before pouring, or hold it three to five years from a good vintage to let the tannins settle and the secondary spice notes develop.

Anecdote

In 1958, Princess Eleonora Ruspoli Berlingieri decided that Lilliano's Sangiovese should carry a label. The estate had vineyards and the family had the land, but the grapes had always gone to bulk. She brought in Giulio Gambelli, who was already building the reputation in Tuscany that would eventually make him the most sought-after Sangiovese consultant of his generation, and together they made and bottled the first Chianti Classico under the Lilliano name. Gambelli would go on to work with Montevertine, Castello di Fonterutoli, and dozens of other estates across the Classico zone. At Lilliano, he was there at the beginning, before any of that reputation had fully landed, helping a princess decide what a bottle of Sangiovese from this limestone hill should taste like.

Final Word

Lilliano is a straightforward proposition. Forty hectares of Sangiovese on stony marly limestone, a three-tier range built around the Chianti Classico DOCG classification, and a clear house preference for concrete fermentation and large-oak maturation that keeps the fruit honest and the acidity intact. The founding story gives the estate a specific entry point into mid-century Tuscan wine history. The current wines deliver what the soils and the cellar promise.

Sources

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