Italy · Colli del Trasimeno

Tenuta Lamborghini

Umbrian estate founded in 1968 by Ferruccio Lamborghini, producing IGT reds from Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon alongside a Grechetto white and sparkling wines, all under Riccardo Cotarella's winemaking direction.

The producer

Tenuta Lamborghini sits between the southern shore of Lake Trasimeno and the medieval hilltop village of Panicale, in the Umbrian province of Perugia. The name belongs to the car manufacturer because the connection is direct: Ferruccio Lamborghini bought this 100-hectare estate in 1968 after passing through the area and deciding to farm it seriously. He planted Sangiovese and Ciliegiolo alongside Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, a choice that was unusual in central Italy at the time and one that set the estate apart from its neighbours.

After Ferruccio's death in 1993, his daughter Patrizia took over management in the mid-1990s and appointed Riccardo Cotarella as winemaker. More than 20 hectares were replanted with selected Sangiovese and Merlot clones, and the classic reds shifted toward French-oak barrique maturation. The estate's 32 wine-producing hectares now carry an Umbria IGT designation across its red blends, a Grechetto white called Luxe, and a sparkling range that includes a traditional-method Brut and a Glera-based Prosecco. The bottles are octagonal, each filled and labelled individually.

Known for

Umbria IGT red blends of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, barrel-aged in French-oak barriques; Luxe Grechetto white.

Notable facts

The story

The Umbrian detour that outlasted the tractors

In 1968, Ferruccio Lamborghini was passing through the Umbrian countryside when he came across the land near Panicale and bought it that year. He was not looking for a quiet life. The tractor business was already built and the supercar company was a few years old, but he farmed the estate with the same directness he applied to engineering problems. When he put vines in the ground, he planted Sangiovese and Ciliegiolo alongside Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, varieties almost nobody in this part of central Italy was growing at the time. After his death in 1993, Patrizia came in, brought Riccardo Cotarella to lead the winemaking, and replanted more than 20 hectares with selected clones. The international varieties her father put in as an experiment became part of the estate's classic red plantings.

The Umbrian detour that outlasted the tractors

In 1968, Ferruccio Lamborghini was passing through the Umbrian countryside when he came across the land near Panicale and bought it that year. He was not looking for a quiet life. The tractor business was already built and the supercar company was a few years old, but he farmed the estate with the same directness he applied to engineering problems. When he put vines in the ground, he planted Sangiovese and Ciliegiolo alongside Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, varieties almost nobody in this part of central Italy was growing at the time. After his death in 1993, Patrizia came in, brought Riccardo Cotarella to lead the winemaking, and replanted more than 20 hectares with selected clones. The international varieties her father put in as an experiment became part of the estate's classic red plantings.

From the atlas

Tenuta Lamborghini

At A Glance

Estate: Tenuta Lamborghini Location: Panicarola, Panicale, Perugia, Umbria, Italy Founded: 1968 Key Grapes: Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grechetto, Glera Classification: Umbria IGT Winemaker: Riccardo Cotarella Vineyard: 32 hectares within a 100-hectare property

The Producer

Tenuta Lamborghini sits between the southern shore of Lake Trasimeno and the medieval hilltop village of Panicale, in the Umbrian province of Perugia. The Umbria-Tuscany border runs close by, with Cortona and the Val di Chiana a few dozen kilometres to the north. The car manufacturer shares the name because the connection is direct: Ferruccio Lamborghini, who built the tractor and supercar businesses, bought this estate in 1968 and farmed it seriously.

What makes the estate more than a famous surname is the wine decisions that followed. Ferruccio planted Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon alongside the local Sangiovese and Ciliegiolo at a time when international varieties were unusual in this part of central Italy. After his death in 1993, his daughter Patrizia took management in the mid-1990s and called in Riccardo Cotarella, one of Italy's most respected winemakers, to lead a quality rebuild from the vine up. More than 20 hectares were replanted with selected Sangiovese and Merlot clones. The estate now sells into more than 80 countries, with travel-retail expansion underway as of 2025.

Place

Umbria is a landlocked region in central Italy, and the Trasimeno area where the estate sits is defined by the lake's moderating effect on temperature. The elevation and the proximity to Tuscany pull the climate toward warm days and cooler nights than the lower Umbrian valleys, conditions that slow ripening and preserve acidity in the grapes. The estate's 32 wine-producing hectares occupy a gentle landscape that softens the bolder warmth further south.

The Umbria IGT designation on the estate's reds is a geographic label that covers the whole region and imposes no grape restrictions, which is why blending Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with Sangiovese is permitted and labelled correctly. The flexibility matters: it allowed Ferruccio to plant what he wanted in 1968 and allows the estate today to build blends that draw on both local and international varieties without reclassifying the wine.

Soil And Site

The estate lies at Località Soderi 1, Panicarola, a few kilometres from Panicale's hilltop. The broader 100-hectare property includes the wine vineyards, a nine-hole golf course, and agritourism facilities. The specific soil compositions across the 32 vineyard hectares are not publicly documented, so no assertions about clay, limestone or alluvial character can be made here. The vineyard renewal programme since the 1990s selected specific Sangiovese and Merlot clones.

Story

Ferruccio Lamborghini was driving through Umbria in 1968 when he passed through the countryside near Panicale and bought an estate. He was not winding down. He was building something new on different terms, and he took the farming seriously. He planted Sangiovese and Ciliegiolo, which any Umbrian grower of the period might have done, and then also planted Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, which almost nobody nearby was doing at that time.

Ferruccio died in 1993. Patrizia Lamborghini inherited management of an estate with a famous name and a wine programme that had not yet matched the ambition of the original plantings. She changed that in the mid-1990s by appointing Riccardo Cotarella as oenological director. Cotarella had built his reputation across Umbria and Lazio, and his arrival at Tenuta Lamborghini marked the shift from a founder's experiment into a deliberate quality programme. The replanting that followed, more than 20 hectares of selected Sangiovese and Merlot clones, committed the estate to the blend that now defines its classic red range.

Vineyards And Cellar

The estate's 32 vineyard hectares carry a mix of varieties planted across two eras: Ferruccio's original selections from the late 1960s and the post-1993 replanting programme that prioritised Sangiovese and Merlot clones. The clone selection from the 1990s onwards was aimed at tighter fruit concentration and better site expression rather than higher yields.

For the classic red range, the grapes go through French-oak barrique maturation after fermentation. Barriques, the 225-litre casks standard in Bordeaux and much of Tuscany, add dark spice and a degree of oak character to the wine and accelerate the integration of tannins from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in particular. The classic reds mature in French-oak barriques and remain within an Umbrian IGT frame.

The estate's signature bottles are octagonal in shape, produced by a single machine, with each bottle and label handled individually during filling and finishing. The bottles are octagonal in shape, produced by a single machine, with each bottle and label handled individually during filling and finishing.

Wines

The core red range blends Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon under the Umbria IGT designation. The Sangiovese brings dried cherry and firm acidity; the Merlot softens the mid-palate and adds plum and cassis weight; the Cabernet Sauvignon contributes dark herb and grip on the finish. French-oak barriques give the range its consistent dark spice and smooth tannic frame. These are fuller-bodied reds made to carry flavour and age moderately.

Luxe Grechetto is made entirely from Grechetto, a white grape with roots in Umbria and Lazio. The variety gives moderate-bodied whites with herbal and stone-fruit character, peach and white flower on the nose, and a slightly bitter almond note on the finish that is typical of the grape. The wine sits in a different register from the reds: lighter, more direct, with freshness and savouriness.

The sparkling range covers three bottles. Lamborghini Brut Mini is made using the traditional method with lees ageing, which gives bready, autolytic depth alongside fresh citrus. Lamborghini Gold Extra Dry Prosecco is made from Glera and carries light floral and stone-fruit character with an off-dry texture. Lamborghini Brut Vino Spumante is fruit-forward and dry, with floral lift, bright acidity and a light mousse. The sparkling wines draw heavily on the Lamborghini name and are positioned for the travel-retail and duty-free market.

In The Glass

The IGT reds open with dark fruit: black cherry, plum and a trace of dried herb from the Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon. On the palate, the Merlot softens what might otherwise be a firmer mid-palate, giving a rounder texture before the Cabernet Sauvignon tannin firms the finish. The French-oak barriques leave a layer of dark spice, vanilla and a slight smokiness that integrates over time. The wines are full in body, warm from the Umbrian growing season, and built for a table.

The Luxe Grechetto pours pale gold and delivers peach, white nectarine and a thread of anise on the nose. In the mouth the body is moderate, the acidity is fresh without being sharp, and the finish carries the variety's characteristic bitter almond note. It is a dry white that rewards attention without demanding deep knowledge of the grape.

The sparkling wines are lighter in register, more immediate, and built around aroma and mousse rather than depth. The Brut Mini has the most complexity of the three, with lees-derived biscuit alongside citrus fruit.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with the Umbria IGT red blend. It is the bottle that carries every core decision the estate has made: the 1968 plantings, the Cotarella quality shift, the selected-clone replanting, and the French-oak maturation. In the glass, expect dark cherry, plum and black herb on the nose, a round mid-palate where the Merlot holds the texture, and a long finish with firm Cabernet Sauvignon tannin and a note of cedar from the oak. The wine is full-bodied and warm. It arrives in the octagonal bottle that the estate treats as its physical signature. Begin here.

Anecdote

In 1968, Ferruccio Lamborghini was passing through the Umbrian countryside when he came across the land near Panicale and bought it the same year. He was not looking for a quiet life. The tractor business was already built; the supercar company was a few years old. He had room to do something different, and he farmed the Umbrian estate with the same directness he applied to engineering problems. When he put vines in the ground, he planted Sangiovese and Ciliegiolo alongside Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, varieties that almost nobody in this part of central Italy was growing at the time. After his death in 1993, Patrizia came in, brought Riccardo Cotarella to lead the winemaking, and replanted more than 20 hectares with selected clones. The international varieties her father put in as an experiment became part of the estate's classic red plantings.

Final Word

Tenuta Lamborghini is an Umbrian estate that earns attention on wine terms as much as on brand recognition. The classic IGT reds are built on a blend that Ferruccio Lamborghini assembled before it was fashionable, matured in French oak under Cotarella's direction, and now reach more than 80 countries. For a first bottle, take the red blend. For a local alternative, the Grechetto white gives a clear view of what Umbrian viticulture produces in a lighter register.

Sources

Open Tenuta Lamborghini in the interactive map →