Tenute Lunelli - Tenuta Castelbuono

In 2001, fascinated by the ancient and almost mystical Region of Umbria and by a wine of extraordinary power and longevity like Sagrantino, the Lunelli family purchased Tenuta Castelbuono, an estate with 30 hectares of vineyards in the communes of Bevagna and Montefalco. Their efforts were initially concentrated on the vineyards, which have now been converted to organic methods. They planted new vines and improved the quality of the existing ones by means of a widespread clonal selection project. The Montefalco Sagrantino was launched in 2003, followed the year after by the Montefalco Rosso.

There was a need, though, for a new winery and the Lunelli family, thanks to their firm, long-held friendship with Arnaldo Pomodoro, one of the great contemporary artists, suggested that it should be he who designed it. The Maestro enthusiastically accepted and, after an initial survey of the area, he already had a project in mind.

The “Carapace” – as Pomodoro decided to call his winery – required no less than six years’ building work and it was inaugurated and opened to the public – for visits and tastings – in June 2012. It is a unique work of art that calls into question the boundaries between sculpture and architecture. It is the first sculpture in the world in which people can live and work, a unique work in which art and nature, sculpture and wine intermingle, underlining the exceptional nature of both the containing structure and of its contents. It offers itself to one’s gaze as a large copper-covered dome, engraved with fissures that remind one of the furrows in the earth that surrounds it. A sculpted element in the form of a red dart plunging into the soil highlights the work’s place in the landscape. Entering the “Carapace” means penetrating into one of Pomodoro’s sculptures, and one is aware right away of his artistic alphabet, which is immediately recognizable in the internal vault. This is a distinctive, special winery for distinctive, special wines.