Siepi

Castellina in Chianti

Siepi has always been a model farm managed with innovative vision, a noninvasive style of farming and constant care in preserving the area's delicate hydrogeological balance. Siepi is still managed today with the same kind of respect inherited from the past that will ensure it is handed down intact to future generations.

The Siepi vineyard's exposure is unique, situated as it is on a plateau that is well lit throughout the day and that is surrounded by an oak forest, creating the perfect microclimate with major differences in temperature between day and night.

The Mazzei were one of the first families in the Chianti Classico area to have the foresight in the early 1980s to plant Merlot as the ideal grape to complement Sangiovese. Siepi was chosen to host this experiment on account of the particular composition of its soil, made up of calcareous and marl schist mixed with very advanced clays, that brings out the best in this uniquely warm and opulent grape variety.

The combination of these two cépages produces a perfectly balanced wine.

The sangiovese plot, covering 3.10 hectares, is south facing with a 12% gradient and is situated at an average heigth of 240 mt. above sea level. The plot's Sangiovese biotypes have been carefully selected to bring concentration and complexity to the wine along with good acidity for long ageing. The Merlot plot, covering 2.90 hectares, is south-west facing with a 5% gradient and is situated at an average height of 250 mt. above sea level. Merlot sets off Sangiovese to perfections, complementing its stern elegance with its opulence, softness and colour.

La Storia di Siepi

Siepi dates back to just under six hundred years ago, when the Siepi and Fonterutoli lands were inherited by the Mazzei family in 1435. A document in the family archives in Fonterutoli lists Siepi among the assets belonging to Madonna Smeralda Mazzei, describing it as "a piece of land adjacent to the house, with olive trees, vines and oaks...", making it unquestionably one of the oldest recorded vineyards in Italy. Over the centuries Siepi began to be celebrated for the quality of its Sangiovese, to the point where numerous wine-growers floeked to the vineyards from all over Tuscany to beg for cuttings to take home and graft onto their owne vines. Siepi has always produced wines of superior structure and sophisticated elegance. The huge job of massal selection, that allows the Castello di Fonterutoli today to boast an unparalleled viticultural heritage, began in the Siepi vineyard.

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