Siepi is a mix of fifty% Sangiovese and 50% Merlot grown within the Chianti Classico space. This mix of Sangiovese’s construction and acidity together with Merlot’s plushness and softness is Siepi’s calling card.
Handled with 70% new oak and bursting with ripe, plush fruits, spice and florals, Siepi gives drinkers a distinctly SuperTuscan expertise. Whereas some producers in Tuscany are discovering it more durable to work with Merlot within the face of more and more hotter rising seasons (Cabernet Franc appears to be regularly changing Merlot as the brand new darling of Bolgheri, for instance), Castello di Fonterutoli is sticking to its weapons.
This choice is made simpler not solely by the truth that Merlot is an equal accomplice within the historic mix, but in addition that the winery’s soils and microclimate assist to maintain the Merlot in test, avoiding any accusations of overripeness.
A current five-vintage vertical tasting with Giovanni Mazzei – the twenty fifth technology of the Mazzei wine dynasty and the group’s export director – helped display the good strides which have been remodeled the previous couple of years to make Siepi extra accessible in its youth, whereas additionally dialling again the oak for a extra elegant character to swimsuit up to date tastes.
Giovanni defined that though the 50/50 mix of Sangiovese and Merlot on the coronary heart of Siepi has remained the identical since 1992, there have been different necessary adjustments, each within the winery and within the cellar.
The Siepi winery
Positioned in Castellina in Chianti, Siepi’s 14-hectare winery is located on a southeast-facing plateau between 220 and 310 metres above sea degree. Encircled by forest, the vines rising right here benefit from the cooling impact of the bushes, whereas the soil, dominated by aberese marl with limestone and clay, is nicely draining – but importantly the clay holds sufficient water to alleviate any stress to the vines in drier circumstances.
The Sangiovese comes from two south-facing plots, ‘Vallone’ and ‘Poggione’, totalling 3.1ha. The vines planted in 1997 derive from a massal collection of the very best clones, whereas the vines planted extra lately in 2011 have been additionally propagated from a few of the greatest Sangiovese vines already within the winery – a collection of a variety, if you’ll.
The Merlot comes from a single southwest-facing plot, ‘Il Piano’, of two.9ha. Planted in 1986 and 1987, these vines derive from a massal collection of the very best vines of the property initially planted within the Seventies.
The winery has been farmed organically since 2006, and occassional anti-fungal remedies encompass not more than sulphur and copper. Natural fertiliser is used at the side of cowl crops, of which fava beans particularly assist to launch nitrogen into the soil – necessary for the well being of the vines and the standard of the grapes.
Stricter choices
Since 2018, Siepi has been the product of a stricter winery choice and since 2019, a brand new optical selector has been employed to tighten up high quality management even additional.
‘Between 2007 and 2012, there was a giant change in class,’ mentioned Giovanni, explaining that 2007 was the primary classic made within the new gravity-fed cellar, which allowed for enhancements to the wine.
Parcels are as we speak fermented individually in 100hl tapered oak vats utilizing indigenous yeasts. Submerged-cap fermentation was launched for the Sangiovese in 2018 – an necessary step in direction of Siepi’s extra elegant character in the latest vintages.
Tweaking the oak
After fermentation is full, the Sangiovese is racked to untoasted tonneaux, handled with steam to open the pores after which heated over a big convection oven to realize a toasted high quality with out the overt charring a unadorned flame creates. That is one other current change, as beforehand each the the Merlot and the Sangiovese have been racked to lightly-toasted barriques.
The oak barrels have all the time been sourced from all kinds of tonnelleries, but whereas the quantity of recent oak has remained the identical (round 70%), extra Austrian oak and fewer French oak have been chosen for the reason that 2019 classic, as a way to give a much less pronounced however nonetheless advanced oak character.
The wines mature for round 17 months earlier than last assemblage, after which Siepi spends 4 months in concrete vats earlier than bottling, a further step launched for the primary time with the 2016 classic.
Giovanni mentioned that 2019 marked a brand new stylistic period for Siepi, the place the wine is extra accessible early in its life, extra fruit-forward too; the results of all of those small adjustments over the previous couple of years. Whereas I singled out 2018 particularly as a chic wine, Giovanni could have a degree – regardless of their youth, the 2019 and 2020 each have nice potential for the long run.
5 vintages of Siepi
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