Storia
Exploration and investment in Apulia
In the mid-1990s, Piero Antinori travelled through Apulia with Renzo Cotarella. They encountered an established viticultural landscape with ancient varieties but believed that its potential for fine wine had not yet been fully developed.
The Antinori family began investing in Apulia in 1998 under the Tormaresca name. The project initially encompassed vineyards and wineries in the Murgia area near Bari and in Upper Salento. It was driven by confidence in the region’s ability to move beyond its historical association with volume production and make wines with a distinct territorial identity.
Development of Tenuta Bocca di Lupo
Tenuta Bocca di Lupo became the Tormaresca estate associated with the Murgia and the Castel del Monte DOC area. Its flagship Bocca di Lupo project grew from the ambition to recover the noble, austere character of Aglianico and give the variety an authentically Apulian interpretation.
In 2006 and 2007, Tormaresca also took its first steps toward recovering and re-evaluating Nero di Troia in the Castel del Monte area. These early stages of the work were subsequently represented by Ettore.
The estate range developed around wines based on Aglianico, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Fiano, Nero di Troia and Moscato di Trani. The portfolio encompasses Castel del Monte DOC, Aglianico DOC Castel del Monte, Nero di Troia DOC, Fiano Puglia IGT and Moscato di Trani DOC expressions.
Terroir
Tenuta Bocca di Lupo is associated with Minervino Murge, in the Murgia near Bari and within the Castel del Monte DOC area.
The local landscape is described as a white, lean karst zone of the Alta Murgia. Lago Locone, an artificial reservoir in the territory of Minervino Murge, has developed into a hydrological habitat populated by lacustrine flora and fauna. Its water is presented as an important life-giving presence in this dry karst environment.
Minerality and savoury character recur as identifying features of the estate’s soils: the Fiano and Chardonnay-based white wines are associated with mineral notes, while Cabernet Sauvignon from the area is linked to a distinctly savoury finish.
Filosofia
The wider Tormaresca project was conceived around confidence in Apulia’s capacity to produce high-quality wines with strong territorial identities. Its stated ambition joined the region’s viticultural history to modern qualitative development and placed particular emphasis on varieties rooted in Apulia.
At Tenuta Bocca di Lupo, that principle is expressed through the recovery and interpretation of individual grapes. The Bocca di Lupo project seeks an authentically Apulian expression of Aglianico, respecting the variety’s noble and austere nature. The work begun with Nero di Troia in 2006 and 2007 follows the same recovery-minded approach. Across the selection, minerality and savoury character are treated as signatures of the estate’s soils rather than as traits to be obscured.