Giovanni Mazzei introduces Siepi’s 25th Anniversary
Siepi dates back to just under 600 years ago, when the lands of Siepi and Fonterutoli were inherited by the Mazzei family in 1435. A document in the family archives found at the Fonterutoli helm lists Siepi among the assets belonging to Madonna Esmeralda 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.
Giovanni Mazzei, 25th generation of Marchesi Mazzei, comments on Siepi and its 25th Anniversary:
“Siepi, one of the consistently highest scoring wines of our region, is an outstanding wine testifying to our family’s long-lived bond with this 6ha vineyard. We look ahead to the future with the same determination as our ancestors who have been tending this land with love and respect for almost six centuries. Siepi has always been a model farm managed with an innovative vision of a non-invasive farming approach and constant care in preserving the area’s delicate hydrogeological balance. Today, we still manage this single vineyard with the same respect tought by previous generations making sure that we hand it down intact to our children.
All Mazzei vineyards are farmed with sustainable practices including no use of herbicides, application of green manure (mix of cereals and herbs) to promote soil life while adding complexity to the ecosystem. We only apply organic fertilization consisting of biological waste turned into compost (branches, stems, grapes, olive pulp). In Siepi, we use the green manure in a mulching form; instead of hashing the herbs, we break them into pieces forming a mulching mat to avoid excessive soil transpiration, balance humidity and control water uptake by the soil and reduce erosion.”
“A dense and rich red with lots of fruit and polished tannins. Full and structured with lots of flesh. But this is fresh at the same time.”, 94-95 points James Suckling
Siepi vineyard’s location is unique. It is ideally located on a plateau that enjoys long sunhours throughout the day surrounded by an oak forest creating the perfect, protected microclimate marked with major diurnal differences ranging from 12.5 to 19.8°C.
Marchesi Mazzei was one of the first families in Chianti Classico to have the foresight to plant Merlot as the ideal grape to complement Sangiovese in the early 1980s. Siepi was chosen to host this experiment because of the particular composition of its soil; calcareous and marl schist mixed with clay.
To mark Siepi’s 25th Anniversary, the family created a special, limited edition bottle for collecors with the classic colours of Siepi: the intense blue of Saniovese and the summer sky and the warm brown of Merlot and the ploughed land along the vineyards.
The wine spends 18 months in French barriques in the 15m deep, humidity self-regulating Mazzei cellar guaranteed by 5 natural water streams flowing through the naked rock walls. The hand-wrapped bottles will be ready for delivery in October 2019 and we are delighted to offer you a small parcel of this collectable wine.
Contact Effi Tsournava or your Sales Manager to find out more.