Storia
The sixteenth-century setting
Villa Margon was built in the sixteenth century among woods and vineyards southwest of Trento. The residence is frescoed inside and out. The Lunelli family subsequently restored the building to its original splendour and made it the family's representative and hospitality venue.
The still-wine project of the 1980s
In the 1980s, drawing on more than a century of experience with Ferrari Trentodoc, the Lunelli family began a programme of care and experimentation devoted to still wines in Trentino. The project used grapes from family-owned mountain vineyards on the slopes around Trento. Its intended hallmarks were a close expression of place, elegance and the ability to age.
1987: Villa Margon
The first vintage of Villa Margon was produced in 1987. This Chardonnay became the first trial of still-wine production for the Ferrari oenological team. It took its name from the Renaissance residence surrounded by the vineyards from which its grapes are grown.
1997: Maso Montalto
Maso Montalto was first produced in 1997. The Pinot Nero comes from one of the family's historic masi on the hills at the foot of Monte Bondone, above Trento. The vineyard lies at more than 400 metres and is dominated by a rock wall rising for over 1,000 metres.
2013: Pietragrande
Pietragrande joined the Trentino range with the 2013 inaugural vintage. Based principally on Chardonnay, with Sauvignon, Incrocio Manzoni and Pinot Blanc, it broadened the estate's interpretation of white varieties grown in Trentino's mountain vineyards.
2014: organic conversion and the Tenute Lunelli identity
In February 2014, the Trentino vineyards were entered in the register for organic-farming certification. Before registration, vineyard work had already followed the Protocol of Wholesome and Sustainable Mountain Viticulture, eliminating pesticides and herbicides, supporting the natural fertility of the soil and relying on natural products for pest control.
On 3 September 2014, the family formally presented Tenute Lunelli as the common identity for its estates in Trentino, Tuscany and Umbria. The Lunelli name was placed on the labels of Tenuta Margon, Tenuta Podernovo and Tenuta Castelbuono, expressing shared commitments to sustainability, elegance and longevity while maintaining the identity of each territory. A lunar-phase emblem was selected for the new identity, reflecting the importance assigned to time and patient maturation.
The 2020 growing season and harvest
Work in the vineyards continued during the 2020 lockdown under modified procedures intended to protect workers. Mild temperatures, particularly in April, accelerated growth, while rain in May and June replenished soil water reserves and prevented drought stress. Harvest began on 17 August, approximately nine days earlier than in 2019. Chardonnay was picked first in the lower vineyards; over roughly one month, harvesting progressed upward to the higher Chardonnay and Pinot Nero sites. All grapes were harvested by hand. Vehicles, tools and workplaces were sanitised daily, while teams and transport were reorganised to maintain physical distancing.
Terroir
Tenuta Margon's vineyards occupy mountain slopes around Trento at elevations between 350 and 600 metres. Strong temperature differences between day and night are a defining climatic feature and support aromatic development in the grapes.
The Villa Margon vineyards lie on the right bank of the River Adige, southwest of Trento, around the sixteenth-century residence. Their soils are predominantly sandy and contain a high proportion of stones.
Maso Montalto occupies hills at the foot of Monte Bondone, overlooking Trento, at more than 400 metres above sea level. The historic site is dominated by a rock wall more than 1,000 metres high. Its moderately fertile soils are primarily clay.
The vineyards supplying Pietragrande are mountainside sites in selected parts of Trentino. Their soils are predominantly sandy and rich in stones.
In 2020, mild April temperatures encouraged faster vegetative growth than in the preceding season. Rainfall in May and June came in short intervals but stored sufficient water in the soils to avert drought stress. The altitude gradient permitted a progressive harvest, beginning in lower Chardonnay sites and moving to higher Chardonnay and Pinot Nero vineyards.
Vinificazione
Tenuta Margon follows a sustainable mountain-viticulture programme. The Trentino vineyards were entered in the organic-farming certification register in February 2014. Before that step, they had already operated for years under the Protocol of Wholesome and Sustainable Mountain Viticulture: pesticides and herbicides were eliminated, natural soil fertility was favoured and pest control relied on natural products.
Both the environment and worker health form part of the stated approach. Harvesting is performed by hand. In 2020, vineyard activity continued through the lockdown with revised working arrangements; during harvest, agricultural vehicles, tools and work areas were sanitised daily, and work crews and transport were organised to preserve physical distancing.
Training systems documented across the estate include the one-armed Trentino pergola and Guyot. Planting densities range from 4,000 to 4,500 vines per hectare. During the 2020 harvest, picking followed elevation and ripening: lower Chardonnay sites were harvested first, followed over approximately one month by higher Chardonnay and Pinot Nero vineyards.
The still-wine project grew out of the Lunelli family's long technical experience with Chardonnay and the Ferrari oenological team's first experiments with still wines. Careful vineyard work is followed by patient cellar maturation, reflecting the family's view that time is fundamental to wine quality.
White-wine fermentations use temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks and selected yeasts. A portion of Villa Margon is fermented in oak, while Pietragrande is fermented in stainless steel. The estate also uses stainless steel, oak barrels of different sizes and bottle maturation according to the intended wine. Maso Montalto matures in oak before an extended period in bottle.
The production approach is intended to retain the identity of Trentino's mountain vineyards while giving the wines elegance and longevity. Vintage conditions are treated as consequential: altitude preserved acidity and aromatic definition during the hot 2015 season, while the more variable start to the 2016 growing season and a sunny August favoured freshness and aromatic complexity in the white varieties.
Filosofia
Tenuta Margon's identity is based on mountain viticulture and on still wines that express the Trentino territory while retaining elegance and the capacity to age. Sustainability, elegance and longevity were defined as the common stylistic values of the Tenute Lunelli project when the family name was placed on the estates' labels in 2014.
Respect for the land is treated as a responsibility toward both regional identity and the environment. Agronomic practice is intended to unite grape quality with the health and well-being of vineyard workers and the surrounding ecosystem. The estate's quality vision therefore combines sustainable farming, detailed vineyard work and a patient approach in the cellar.
Time is regarded as an essential ingredient in wine quality. The lunar phases adopted as the Tenute Lunelli emblem express this idea: careful cultivation is followed by attentive waiting during maturation. Marcello Lunelli has described Villa Margon as an account of Trentino mountain viticulture and of a quality philosophy founded on respect, sustainability and a deep relationship with the family's territory.