Leuta Wines
About Winery and Wines
When I decided to change my life in 1998, my first thought was how I could bring my grandfather heritage back to life. His memory, his teaching and his example still drive my decisions today, after more than 30 years since his departure. My goal is to try to merge tradition and innovation, to combine the respect of nature with modern technology in order to craft a wine that represents a perfect combination of eurytmia and symmetry. Balance and harmony are what I believe to be the keys of pleasure; the only triggers that can change our beliefs, our perceptions and our emotions, giving a perfect sense to our lives. It is by having such ideas in my mind that I go everyday to my Vineyard and to my cellar. I would like that my wines impart the peculiarity and beauty of the terroir as well as my modern, even though respectful of nature, wine making philosophy. Denis Zeni, owner & winemaker Azienda Agricola Leuta was founded in 2000 by Denis Zeni and Enzo Berlanda. Longtime business partner and school friends from the Lagarina valley in Trentino, the two young men, recognizing both the powerful attraction of nature and the perverse fascination of the city, decided to make a radical change and leave their respective jobs in the world of finance for the challenge of agriculture. For too long, they realized, they had been dreaming and desiring a different life; their fathers had cultivated tobacco and grapes in the Trentino area and they wanted to live the same way. Unfortunately, what remained of the past family holdings were only two hectares of vineyard in Isera, where the Marzemino reigns supreme. So the men decided to focus their efforts in Tuscany. In 2000 they purchased 21,5 hectares (approximately 60 acres) of land in Tuscany near Cortona, not far from Lake Trasimeno and Montepulciano. This land is now the Leuta Estate. Positioned at 310 meters above sea-level, the land is perfect for grape-growing, as soil studies clearly indicate.
Leuta is located in the rolling hills in Cortona area in beautiful Tuscany. Leuta terroir is 310m above sea level, with homogeneous soils composed of river and lake sediments dating back to the Lower Pleistocene – 2 million years ago. They are clay-rich with low level of limestone and high concentration of calcium and magnesium, and low concentration of organic substance. They are made of clay 40%, sand 40% and silt 20% and they have good capacity for cationic exchange. Clay gives structure and elegance to the resulting wines and provides at the same time a strong water reserve. No presence of ferric chlorosis. The climate is temperate with hot, dry summers and wet winter & spring. Average rainfall of 800 mm/year with peak in autumn and spring. Temperatures: highs of 38°C in July/August, lows of -5°C in December, September: highs of 27.5°C and lows of 13°C, October: highs of 24°C and lows of 8°C. Average winds mainly from the east. Organic agriculture has been employed since the beginning. Azienda Agricola Lagarini has the first vineyard in Tuscany in the Cortona production area, with an estate of 21,5 hectares, of which at present only 12,5 are planted with vines. Established in 2000, it consists of 7 different vineyards. Four of them are planted with Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Syrah. One is planted with 12 varieties coming from former russian Georgia and two are planted with Sangiovese and other 10 autochthonous Tuscan varieties.