FOUNDER · CHIEF WINEMAKER
Roberto Cipresso
"Wine is not made in the cellar. It is made in the vineyard — one decision at a time, over decades."
BIOGRAPHY
Four decades at the forefront of Italian wine
Roberto Cipresso was born in Veneto, in northeastern Italy, and spent his youth among the wine traditions of the Veneto plains. But it was Tuscany that called him — the severity of Sangiovese, the complexity of the Chianti hills, the particular way the Galestro schist catches light in the afternoon sun.
He arrived in Tuscany in the 1980s at a moment of radical transformation. Sassicaia had just broken the mold; the Super Tuscans were proving that Italian wine could compete with the greatest wines of the world. Roberto joined this movement — working alongside the estates that defined an era, earning recognition not as a consultant who passed through, but as a winemaker who understood each vineyard's singular voice.
Over the following decades, Roberto worked on Sassicaia, Masseto, and Tignanello — three of Italy's most celebrated wines. He accumulated multiple Tre Bicchieri awards from Gambero Rosso, Italy's most respected wine guide. He was recognized repeatedly as Winemaker of the Year.
But the work he considers his true legacy is quieter and more radical: the selection of 133 distinct Sangiovese clones, each with its own genetic profile, flavour contribution, and response to soil and climate. This library of clones — assembled over 40 years of patient observation — is the foundation of every Oria wine.
THE LEGACY
133 clones of Sangiovese
Sangiovese is not one grape. It is a family — a diverse genetic universe of clones that vary in berry size, skin thickness, tannin structure, aromatic profile, and ripening timing. Most wines are made from just a handful of widely propagated clones, chosen for yield predictability.
Roberto spent decades identifying, documenting, and preserving 133 distinct Sangiovese clones from vineyards across Tuscany. Many were found in old gardens, field blends, abandoned parcels — genetic survivors of varieties that commercial viticulture had abandoned.
Together, these 133 clones produce a wine of extraordinary complexity — every sip contains the genetic memory of hundreds of years of Tuscan viticulture.
133
CLONES
40+
YEARS
1
WINE
"The sum is always greater than the parts."
THE TECHNIQUE
Dissociation: harvesting with precision
Individual reading
Each of the 133 clones is monitored separately throughout the season — Brix, pH, phenolic ripeness, aromatic markers.
Timed harvest
Each clone is harvested at its individual peak — not when the average vineyard is ready, but when that specific variety reaches its maximum expression.
Separate pressing
Clusters from each clone are pressed independently. The timing of the press is calibrated to extract different aromatic and structural elements.
The final composition
Roberto assembles the final wine from 133 individual lots — a composition process he compares to orchestration, where each voice has its role.
Own land crafted by Roberto
From €13,500. Every bottle of your allocation carries his 40 years of mastery.
See membership plans