2021 Fonterutoli Siepi 750ML

2021 Fonterutoli Siepi 750ML

2021 Fonterutoli Siepi 750ML An opulent yet tensioned young red with blackberries, violets and black olive skin character. Full-bodied. But has so much energy and focus. Goes on for minutes. Best after 2028. 98pts Suckling

Intense blackcurrant on the nose, baked and ripe, so expressive and inviting with small hints of liquorice and tar. Supple, generous, juicy and bright, this 50/50 Sangiovese-Merlot is so well worked and harmonious – rich, wide and full in the mouth, it courses with life and energy and such underlying power. You can feel the intensity and sculpting on show, this is no wall flower of a wine but it’s presented so neatly and beautifully. I love the tannins, massy but controlled and perfectly countering the fresh and ripe red and black fruit with black pepper, tar, tobacco and bitter orange as well as soft floral edges. The brightness superbly matches the depth and complexity delivering a nuanced glass of wine with so much to say. I love the tannins and the sense of direction and confidence. 97pts Decanter

The 2021 Siepi (in a heavy glass bottle) opens to sweet fruit nuances of cooked cherry, blackberry preserves, cinnamon and nutmeg. This full-bodied wine is supple and very soft in terms of mouthfeel, and its flavor profile is expansive and all-encompassing. This wine is balanced and seamless, and the 2021 vintage is certainly one of the best editions of Siepi we’ve seen so far. 96+pts Parker’s WA

96+ points, The 2021 Siepi is impressive. Blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice, menthol and mocha are nicely dialed up. This plush, succulent Sangiovese/Merlot blend is quite the charmer, as it so often is. The 2021 is exceptionally elegant and polished, certainly one of the best editions in recent memory. 96+pts Vinous

This is one of the hardest to get great single vineyard Super Tuscans that absolutely crushed it in the great  2021 vintage that must not be missed. 2021 is an exceptional vintage, yields were low and skins were thick, ideal for long lived wines with great concentration matched with balance and elegance. Galloni commented, “The 2021s in particular are some of the most exciting young wines I have tasted in more than 25 years of visiting the region.” The wine is the 2021 Castello di Fonterutoli Mazzei Siepi, Gambero Rosso has called Siepi “one of the fifty wines that changed Italy.” indicates clearly the esteem in which Siepi is held by Italian connoisseurs. 2021 was Decanter’s #2 Tuscan wine of the year. It earned 98 points from James Suckling and the Italian-wine experts at Vinous scored it in their top 10 wines of the vintage. Robert Parker said about Siepi, “this wine could easily compete with a first-growth Bordeaux.”  Fonterutoli is rich with history. It was acquired by the famous Mazzei family in 1435. Ser Lapo Mazzei is the author of the first known document to use the “Chianti” denomination in 1398; in 1435, when his granddaughter Madonna Smeralda Mazzei married Piero di Agnolo da Fonterutoli, the holding became part of the family’s estate. Since then, for 24 generations, the Mazzei family produces wine at Castello di Fonterutoli.

Philip Mazzei, who enjoyed calling himself a “Citizen of the World”, befriended Franklin, Adams, Washington, and Jefferson; the latter invited him to introduce vine growing in Monticello, Virginia. In a letter to George Washington, Mazzei writes that the soil and climate of that region are wonderfully suitable for wine production. Filippo inspired Jefferson with the idea that “All men are by nature equally free and independent. Such equality is necessary in order to create a free government”. In his book A Nation of Immigrants, John F. Kennedy himself acknowledges that “The great doctrine ‘All men are created equal’, incorporated in the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, was paraphrased from the writings of Filippo Mazzei, an Italian patriot and dear friend of Jefferson”. In 1980 for the 250th anniversary of his birth, Philip Mazzei is commemorated as an “American Patriot” with a stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service.

The great single vineyard of Siepi is located in the county of Castellina. The soil is characterized by clay-rich with the presence of marly limestone and calciferous sandstone and is truly one of Italy’s greatest vineyards. In a document stored in the family archive at Fonterutoli, Siepi was already listed among the properties of Madonna Smeralda Mazzei in 1435; this is certainly one of the oldest vineyards in Italy.

The great Carlo Ferrini consults, possibly Tuscans greatest winemaker, also makes Oreno, Casanova di Neri,  Petrolo, La Massa, Brancaia and Brolio. Siepi is one of the greats, gets massive press in top vintages. Siepi is a monumental wine with towering intensity and opulent aromas of spice, leather and chocolate covered cherry. The texture of this hearty blend is infinitely soft and supple. A definite collector piece and a wine for the ages. I was blown away by this wine.