V I N E E X P E C TAT I O N S
The point of origin
Tenuta di Arceno stands on the footprints of the Etruscan civilisation, while making strides mapping Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc into the future. Winemaker Lawrence Cronin gives us a glimpse of this Tuscan idyll. By June Lee
T
he beauty of Tuscany is well documented, from its warm Mediterranean lifestyle to the dreamy landscapes of rolling hills and ancient cypress trees. Tenuta di Arceno, located in the southernmost corner of Chianti Classico between the cities of Siena and Florence, also lies in the fork of two rivers, Ambra and Ombrone, which made it the ancient nexus of the mighty Etruscan civilisation. When Jess Jackson from California’s Jackson Family Wines and longtime master vigneron Pierre Seillan first visited in 1994, they embraced not just the vineyards but also the history of the region, naming it Arceno after the Etruscan word archè, “point of origin”. More excitingly for Singaporean vinophiles, the wines made by Tenuta di Arceno are now available locally, with brand ambassador
122 epicurevietnam
Pierre-Marie Pattieu recently leading a masterclass on both the Sangiovese range as well as its Bordeaux-styled Super Tuscan Arcanum range. To understand how significant these wines are, it's worth noting that Pierre Seillan has received 100-point scores from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate not once but 13 times, and many of those were for his Californian Le Désir Cabernet Franc at Vérité winery (also under the Jackson Family Wines umbrella). To find out how Cabernet Franc is shaping up to be the superstar of the Arcanum range, we got in touch with Teunta di Arceno’s resident winemaker, Lawrence Cronin.
When California meets Chianti In 2002, New York transplant Lawrence Cronin – who got his professional start at Edmeades Winery in Anderson Valley – joined Tenuta di Arceno. Calling Mendocino and Castlenuovo Berardenga (where he now lives) his most favourite cities, it’s easy to see the Mediterranean connection between the two regions. Home is currently an old Tuscan house from the 1500s, where he plays football with his son in the bran. The winery is a 7km motorcycle ride away. “The best wines are made in the vineyard and a winemaker only needs to guide it safely to the bottle,” says Cronin of his
