"Hidden behind the Italian Riviera of grand hotels, of casinos, of international tourism, extends, forgotten and unknown, the Liguria of the peasants."
(Italo Calvino)
Lvnae: the stubbornness of Liguria
In the most extreme corner of Eastern Liguria, directly on the border with Tuscany, we find the Lvnae winery of the Bosoni family. Reflecting the typical strength and stubbornness of centuries of Ligurian inhabitants (specifically those of the 1960s), the Bosoni family decided to devote itself entirely to the world of wine, and to give a voice to the place the Bosoni family calls home.
Paolo Bosoni
The creation and inception of the Lvnae winery was born with Paolo Bosoni. Rooted with Bosoni’s memories was a certain simplicity and tradition that he was able to mold into an encounter and dialogue between the winemaker and his lands of origin. Bosoni then passed this passion to his son, Diego, who today has expanded his father’s vision, and has greatly amplified the road the Bosoni family has taken towards producing top-quality wines.
Lvnae: Vermentino presented as an Iconic Wine
Paolo Bosoni began his winemaking journey in 1966, a difficult time to get started on this adventure. Bosoni emphasized the tremendous properties of the Vermentino grape varietal, now one of the winery’s icons. Bosoni has extensively scoped out the most suitable lands and the most reliable clones to work with. With this focus on quality, Bosoni is thus able to infuse his vines with a dignity that has always been present in the language of the Ligurian population.
Paolo maintains a firm belief in the intrinsic quality of the land his family cultivated for generations. This land, after all, has helped him rediscover other fine grape varietals (and not just Vermentino), like the Ciliegiolo or Albarola grapes.
"Our wines are the result of nature’s gifts and man’s ability” says Diego Bosoni. “The nearby Apuan Alps play a fundamental role in the land’s richness, protecting the area from the Northern winds. The land also benefits from the sea breezes that lend notes of the Mediterranean scrub we love,” Bosoni concludes.
The Lvnae wines
The Lvnae winemakers follow an artisanal approach, and are comparable to architects. With the need to cultivate the wine lands’ slopes vertically, we can see the reflection of the delicate balance of successful architecture at work.
The Lvnae Winery Par Excellence: Numero Chiuso
We can explore the wines of the Bosoni family, beginning with a classic representation, Numero Chiuso. This wine is crafted exclusively in the finest vintages. The wines are an idealized interpretation of a Vermentino that speaks with time, just as the winemakers of the Lvnae territory have always done.
The Numero Chiuso wines contradict the notion that Vermentino doesn’t possess the natural ability to sustain an aging process or a maturation method. Indeed, this wine has the potential to make you fall in love with just that: its evolution over the years.
The aromas contained in a bottle of Numero Chiuso is indeed a testament to the craftsmanship and labor of love that goes into the production of every single bottle, while at the same time expressing a most captivating nuance of grapes that have absorbed the scent of the Mediterranean Sea.
The Best of Lunae's "Numero Chiuso" Vermentino Colli di Lui Vertical Tastings
- 2018
Super fresh peach aromas, with a light tropical mango note that ties into a more pleasing acacia flower floral fragrance. This selection is taut on the palate, with some traces of flint and minerality. The lovely citrus finish is preceded by a slight dried wildflower kick.
- 2017
This vintage is all about almond scents and candied cedar that blend with some nice smoky notes. An intense, warm palate communicates the proximity of wake seaweed and brackish notes with a finish of tangerine zest.
- 2016
This wine has a terrific juiciness to it, combined with a memorably savoury mouth-feel that expresses unmistakable notes of peat and pine resin. These elements alternate pleasingly with hints of gooseberry fruit, grapefruit and orange blossom.
- 2013
This year introduces a pleasant whiff of gunpowder that entwines with the sweeter flavours of popcorn, cedar, and yellow peach. This selection will slake your thirst with its natural sweetness and a taut, responsive finish.
- 2011
This vintage expresses its characteristics only after opening at least 1 hour from service. Passion fruit brings with it a breeze of the tropics as it mingles with nectarine and green tea. On the palate, we’re reminded of rosemary’s essential oils with a hint of lemon that culminates with a surprising freshness.
- 2008
This year brings with it notes of peat, coffee, ripened fruits, apricots and quince. Trailing behind these primary aromas are star anise, tangerine peel, mango, and a rich, herbal finish.
Liguria: wine between sea and mountains
The region of Liguria is composed of a strip of land squeezed between the sea and the mountains. This region is home to great contrasts, where opposite and complementary traditions and practices coexist happily. This extremely problematic land is composed not just of the Mediterranean Sea and the ensuing tourism that flocks to the lands to enjoy its views, but also an extensive, long-lived rural culture. In order to truly gain a sense of the paradoxes and contrasts of the land, you must overcome the normal dynamics of what can be possible and what can be construed.
Vineyards of Liguria
The vineyards throughout the coastal areas of Liguria are fragmented, so say the least. Some segments of local Ligurian vineyards are terraced, where mechanical cultivation and maintenance is impossible to achieve, thereby requiring exclusive care by local winemakers. In these vineyards, the emphasis falls on the strength, interpretative capacity, and determination of the winemakers to create a memorable end result.
In order to ensure the lands' productivity, protection from the encroaching woodlands is often required. The struggle to maintain the lands’ borders from the strong, wild nature behind it often recalls historic moments when the Ligurian populace would flee into the woods to protect themselves from sea-based attacks. The vineyards we see today simply embrace the cliffs where they’re born, and are tended by the bravest, most expert hands of this region.
The Bosoni family continues to honor their humble, peasant origins
Each development they make recalls their gamble on this borderland, and their leap of faith as they built their winery from the literal ground up.
Thanks to this daily reminder of their unpretentious roots, the Bosoni family constantly seeks to valorize the territory around them. Their goals are to continue producing top-quality wines that give back to the local economy, beginning with their inclusion of approximately 100 small local vintners, who thanks to the winery’s staff, can deliver their independently-grown grapes to the Lvnae winery.
This is just one of the striking facets of the Lvnae winery: the desire to make the local land a central character of their wine’s history, as well as giving the winery a true social function.
What does the Lvnae winery give back? A chance of survival to the community of small grape cultivators, who are the true guardians of a land that’s proven difficult to cultivate but extremely rich in biodiversity and local history.
The external area vintners work a swath of land of about 20 hectares. These local producers are a reflection of local heritage, with each representing individual histories and realities. Very often, the grapes cultivated on these lands contain all the flavor of a most unique, unmistakable local terroir
Lvnae and its women: Lala and Debora
As the Lvnae winery reflects a partnership with its local neighboring vintners, within the winery itself a division appears that further serves to shore up the powerful character of this winery.
The female component of the Lvnae is present, adding in a very specific blend of complexity and richness to both the wines and the winery structure. Mother and daughter team, Lala and Debora, provide the soul and feminine sensitivity of the Bosoni family’s winery. The team’s passion and emphasis on production quality is the stimulus behind the winery’s dedication to quality over quantity. Thanks to their instinct, the wine estate follows a nature-focused timeline, and is seemingly quite attuned to the biorhythms encompassing the estate.
“Wine is living matter,” Debora explains, “and is the result of physical and energetic actions that harmonize with subtle energies.”
The ability to incorporate the different inputs is the true strength of the Lvnae winery. Different perspectives and different sources tend to different needs within the estate. The end result is a culture of drinking and eating well, of a desire to share these experiences with a wide, international audience.
Lvnae is much more than just a winery
It is instead an extended, large family that honors and loves its roots. Thanks to its social engagement with area wine growers, it also manages to valorize the local territory, fostering a sense of unity that all producers can participate in. This is the absolute bottom line in keeping the local culture, biodiversity and dialogue alive and well.
The development of the winery’s first batch of bottles is also remarkable. The local winemakers were in reality the ones encouraging Paolo Bosoni to increase the numbers of bottles available for sale.
The local wine growers were behind the very push from a few bottles to a larger production of reliably top-quality bottles available for sale.
Lvnae Bosoni: "Going back through history..."
Paolo initially undertook the selling of his wines door-to-door, carried out from the boot of his small motorcycle! His homespun scale dramatically changed with a local restaurant commissioned his Vermentino for sale in the restaurant, bringing about a sea change in demand. Bosoni’s remarkable enological intuition actually became a turning point for the entire wine.making territory.
From hereon in, the lands belonging exclusively to his family were no longer sufficient to meet demand. In a crucial moment when residents were fleeing the lands in order to change both their jobs but then lots in life, Paolo was able to encourage them to remain and participate in this ground-breaking project. Following his instinct, with a dash of courage and vision, Bosoni began selecting and purchasing local grapes suitable for vinification.
Terre Viva Lvnae community
The feedback from the local farmers was a heady mix of enthusiasm and confidence that allowed Bosoni to continue in this investment. Today, the farmers still retain that mix of vigor and vim, so much so that they’ve created the Terre Viva Lvnae community, a group still in action and meeting regularly today. This project aims to carry on local traditions with a focus on the valorization of local lands suitable for vineyard cultivation. The group is rich in history and viticultural memory thanks to the work they’ve put in on preservation of the area’s indigenous vines. The collection of farmers has also created an overall social fabric that is the soul and economic foundation of the region.
The Lvnae winery’s dedication to the fragile social fabric is at the heart of its decision-making process on both wine-making and promotion of the area. In order to share their lands and their histories with a larger public, the goal is to achieve this in a safe, production method that has the area’s best interests at heart.
Visit Lvnae, one of the most important wineries in Liguria
Discovering the wines of Lvnae is akin to experiencing a reverse temporal discovery of a region with an endless history. Each glass of Lvnae wine is sheer pleasure, as you’d experience with works of art and music.
Each glass contains the life’s work of an entire family, imbued with the respect and quality of these unique individuals. Each sip will bring a taste of the magnificent rapport between nature and kind, gentle human relationships.
