95pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2010 Lupicaia is another fruit-forward vintage, showing great intensity and depth. What makes this wine unique is its streamlined and focused nature. Overall, it is a ripe, generous and very intense wine with rich flavors and concentration. The integrated tannin are dusty and fine. It would pair well with rich and gamey meats like liver, innards or venison.

95pts Jeb Dunnuck

Composed of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Petit Verdot, the 2010 Lupicaia was raised in new tonneaux for approximately 18 months. It is forward with more contemplative aromas of worn leather, white truffle, and dried cherry and is long on the palate, with red plum, dried roses, and turned earth. It is medium to full bodied but again has a compact nature that harkens more similarly to Bordeaux than New World in its style. It is not shy for structure and has great Mediterranean feel.

93pts James Suckling

Aromas of asphalt, meat and dark fruits follow through to a full body with firm, chewy tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Needs a year or two still to soften but already shows lots of character and polish. Mostly cabernet sauvignon with some merlot and petit verdot. Try in 2017.

Winery Notes

The Castello del Terriccio (Castle of the land) dates back roughly 1000 years. The modern history of the estate begins after World War I, when it was acquired by Count Serrafini Ferri, whose family still owns the property. In the 1920s the Serrafini Ferris' implemented major improvements to the property. This family laid the groundwork for the estate that remains more or less unchanged today.

Up to the 1970s the estate was known mainly for production of grain, it even held the European record for production of second harvest corn. This specialization in grain continues today but also in the organic production of spelt (dinkel wheat), corn, forage and olive groves – but this has been overshadowed in recent times by the estate's expertise and reputation for viticulture and the production of fine wines. It expanded from 25 hectares of vineyards (62 acres) in 1980 to 60 hectares (148 acres) today.

Cultivation of vines in this area dates originally back to the Etruscans, after which it was abandoned and then begun again. At the end of the 1980s a new phase of viticulture started, with the aim of fully exploiting the potential of the land for production of vines. Today vines are cultivated under IGT- Indicazione Geografica Tipica.