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Tenuta Luce, Luce 2012 (Toscana)
RedItaly2012
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2019-12-19 · Published 2026-09-15 · Updated 2026-09-15
At a glance
In one line
3.5/5 — lower than Vivino's 4.4 average · world avg price US$165 · A Sangiovese-Merlot blend from Montalcino, first made in 1995 by the 700-year-old Florentine house Frescobaldi and Robert Mondavi together.
Vivino's listed critic score: 90 (Jul 2015), one entry
Market note: Vivino's vintage curve stays remarkably steady from 1993 (4.4) to 2023 (4.3), almost always between 4.2 and 4.6. This 2012 is 15.5% alcohol, aged 24 months in oak (per Vivino's wine facts).
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“Taste full of forest. Merlot tannins continue to be annoying. But vanilla, oak, flower was good.”
What I learned today: one thing you dislike can't erase three things you like.
On Thursday, Master Seo came in with a small wreath for the door, cedar branches woven into a ring. I held it up and he hammered in the nail. "It goes up before December." The smell of resin stayed on my palms.
I took my glass with those hands. It was a forest. Forest floor, leather, blackberry, plum, and vanilla. The forest on my hands and the forest in the glass came into my nose at once. In my mouth, the tannin gripped my tongue hard.
Where the two forests overlapped, the drawer opened. Winter when I was twenty-one, that night three days before the solstice. After the glass with endless bubbles and the glass that sat quiet and golden, this was the last one. Father took a sip and pushed the glass a little away across the table. A moment later he pulled it back and put his nose in. Push, pull, all night long. I don't know the bottle's name.
The notebook pushes and pulls the same way. "Merlot tannins continue to be annoying." And right after: "But vanilla, oak, flower was good." Father gave the annoying and the good one line each, fair and square.
As I closed up and shut the door, the cedar breathed out from the wreath once more. What I learned today: one thing you dislike can't erase three things you like.
What this wine is
In the early 1990s, Vittorio Frescobaldi of Florence's 700-year-old wine dynasty met Robert Mondavi of Napa. The two agreed on an ambitious project fit for Montalcino, and the result, first released in 1995, was Luce. Blending Sangiovese and Merlot in nearly equal parts was unusual for the region — Brunello di Montalcino allows only 100% Sangiovese, and here was a Super Tuscan built almost half from an international variety.
The name Luce — Italian for "light" — evokes, in Frescobaldi's own words, the Montalcino sunlight that is the source of life and nourishment. The sun motif on the label, called "Sol Solis," is said to be drawn from a 15th-century altarpiece in a Florentine church, commissioned by the Frescobaldi family. In 2005, Vittorio's son Lamberto Frescobaldi took over the Luce project, and around the same time the Frescobaldi family bought out Mondavi's side of the venture entirely (Constellation Brands, which had by then acquired Mondavi), ending the joint venture.
This 2012 is 50% Sangiovese, 50% Merlot, aged 24 months in oak, at 15.5% alcohol.
What the world says
This 2012 vintage has been rated by 1,477 people on Vivino, averaging 4.4 (the whole label, across 23,386 ratings, also averages 4.4). Vivino lists just one critic score, 90 points from July 2015. It ranks 3,783rd among roughly 2.1 million Italian wines, and 17th of 151 within the winery itself — a steady showing alongside Frescobaldi's other labels.
The flavor keywords lead with the oak group — oak, vanilla, tobacco, chocolate, cedar — at 1,216 mentions, followed by blackberry, plum and black cherry (917), and leather, earthy and smoke (627). Structure: tannin 3.1/5, acidity 3.1, intensity 3.5, sweetness 1.8 — with Merlot making up half the blend, the tannin runs on the gentler side.
"Our second LUCE of the night... Display lite tobacco with a touch of smoke and spice. Smooth and subtle finish... a threat wine." — Vivino review, Feb 2017, 4.5 stars
"Beautiful bouquet of ripe succulent berries and plums. On the palate, really smooth and lively, some wood, creamy even. Finish is medium-long. Really delicious!!!" — Vivino review, Feb 2019, 4.5 stars
A 50/50 Sangiovese-Merlot blend is often praised for Merlot rounding off Sangiovese's edges. My own note — "Merlot tannins keep annoying me" — reads like the opposite impression: the tannin that was supposed to soften things instead stood out.
How I drank it
19 December 2019, 3.5 stars. "Taste full of forest. Merlot tannins continue to be annoying. But vanilla, oak, flower was good."
This was the last bottle of the night's line-up. I started with Moillard Corton-Charlemagne 1997 (4.5), moved through Krug Grande Cuvée (5.0), and closed with this Luce 2012 — white Burgundy, then Champagne, then an Italian red, with the scores sliding downward as the evening went on.
The Merlot tannin I called "annoying" isn't especially high against Vivino's own structure data, at 3.1/5. It's more likely a matter of sequence — meeting a full-bodied Super Tuscan right after the Krug's fine bubbles and acid, and the soft texture of a 22-year-old white Burgundy — one of the rare cases in my log where drinking order probably shaped the score. Even so, "vanilla, oak, flower was good" lines up exactly with Vivino's oak group (1,216 mentions) and floral notes (48, including violet at 31). Against this vintage's community average of 4.4, my 3.5 sits 0.9 below — one of the widest gaps between my score and the community anywhere in this magazine.
Vivino community data
2012 vintage rating distribution (1477 ratings, average 4.4)
| 5★ | 448 (30%) | |
| 4★ | 906 (61%) | |
| 3★ | 107 (7%) | |
| 2★ | 12 (1%) | |
| 1★ | 4 (0%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Oak | 1216 | oak 330 · vanilla 277 · tobacco 176 · chocolate 136 · cedar 65 |
| Black fruit | 917 | blackberry 260 · plum 216 · black fruit 125 · black cherry 68 · blackcurrant 61 |
| Earth & leather | 627 | leather 236 · earthy 98 · smoke 76 · forest floor 28 · mushroom 27 |
| Red fruit | 355 | cherry 175 · raspberry 49 · red fruit 43 · red cherry 25 · strawberry 20 |
| Spice | 251 | licorice 71 · pepper 43 · cinnamon 35 · mint 33 · anise 10 |
| Dried fruit | 67 | prune 34 · raisin 11 · dried fruit 9 · fig 9 |
| Floral | 48 | violet 31 · perfume 6 · dried flowers 3 · dried rose 2 |
Structure: Acidity 3.1/5 · Intensity 3.5/5 · Tannin 3.1/5 · Sweetness 1.8/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 23386 ratings, average 4.4)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 4.3 | 31 |
| 2022 | 4.3 | 247 |
| 2021 | 4.3 | 782 |
| 2020 | 4.3 | 1065 |
| 2019 | 4.4 | 1519 |
| 2018 | 4.4 | 1127 |
| 2017 | 4.5 | 894 |
| 2016 | 4.4 | 1677 |
| 2015 | 4.4 | 1843 |
| 2014 | 4.4 | 1346 |
| 2013 | 4.4 | 2282 |
| 2012 | 4.4 | 1477 |
| 2011 | 4.4 | 1350 |
| 2010 | 4.4 | 931 |
| 2009 | 4.4 | 889 |
| 2008 | 4.4 | 604 |
| 2007 | 4.4 | 383 |
| 2006 | 4.4 | 630 |
| 2005 | 4.4 | 399 |
| 2004 | 4.4 | 217 |
| 2003 | 4.4 | 130 |
| 2002 | 4.6 | 55 |
| 2001 | 4.3 | 211 |
| 2000 | 4.4 | 272 |
| 1999 | 4.4 | 303 |
| 1998 | 4.3 | 201 |
| 1997 | 4.4 | 268 |
| 1996 | 4.2 | 161 |
| 1995 | 4.2 | 184 |
| 1994 | 4.4 | 65 |
| 1993 | 4.4 | 43 |
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Tenuta Luce's Luce 2012?
A red from Montalcino, Tuscany, blending 50% Sangiovese and 50% Merlot, aged 24 months in oak at 15.5% alcohol. It began as a 1995 joint venture between Frescobaldi and Robert Mondavi, and is now wholly owned by Frescobaldi. Vivino's listed critic score is 90; this vintage's community average is 4.4 from 1,477 ratings.
How much does it cost?
US$165 per 750ml ex-tax (Wine-Searcher, Aug 2026).
What food pairs well with it?
Vivino users suggest beef, lamb, veal, poultry and cured meat. With tannin at 3.1/5 in a medium-to-full body, it suits grilled red meat and braises.
What does the sun symbol on the label mean?
The sun motif, called "Sol Solis," is said to be drawn from a 15th-century altarpiece in a Florentine church commissioned by the Frescobaldi family. Together with the name Luce ("light" in Italian), it stands for the Montalcino sunlight the wine is named after.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data (2012 vintage)
- Tenuta Luce official — History
- Wine Spectator — Frescobaldi Buys Out Luce Venture from Constellation
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France · Burgundy★★★★½Similar styleUnico Sangiovese di Romagna Riserva 2013
Italy★★★☆☆Similar styleVarvaglione Papale Linea Oro Primitivo di Manduria 2016
Italy · Puglia★★★★☆Same grapeAvignonesi & Capannelle '50 & 50' Toscana IGT 2011
Italy · Tuscany★★★★☆Same grape