Mazzei, Castello di Fonterutoli 'Siepi', Toscana IGT, 2019

The producer Mazzei is one of Tuscany’s historic wine families, with over six centuries of winemaking heritage centred around their Castello di Fonterutoli estate in Chianti Classico. Sangiovese forms the backbone of their vineyards, complemented by small proportions of traditional varieties such as Canaiolo and Colorino, alongside carefully selected international grapes in certain sites. Planting densities are relatively high to encourage concentration, and vineyard practices are tailored plot by plot, with a strong emphasis on clonal research and matching grape varieties to specific soils. The vines are trained using a mix of Guyot and spurred cordon systems depending on vineyard age and location. Mazzei combines deep-rooted tradition with modern precision. Sustainable practices are central to their philosophy, with careful soil management, reduced chemical intervention, and ongoing efforts to preserve biodiversity across their estates. Their focus remains on expressing the character of Tuscany’s diverse terroirs, producing wines that balance structure, elegance, and a clear sense of place. The wine Mazzei’s Siepi is produced from a single six-hectare vineyard at the Castello di Fonterutoli estate in Chianti Classico. Situated at approximately 260 metres above sea level, this remarkable site occupies a sunlit plateau surrounded by oak woodland, creating a distinctive microclimate with marked differences between day and night temperatures. The vineyard’s south and south-west exposures provide generous sunlight throughout the growing season, while the predominantly Alberese soils offer excellent drainage. These conditions allow Sangiovese and Merlot to ripen fully while retaining the freshness and definition essential to Siepi’s character. Planting densities range from approximately 4,500 to 6,500 vines per hectare, encouraging competition between the vines and naturally concentrated fruit. The vineyard combines Guyot and spurred-cordon training, with each variety harvested separately at optimum ripeness. The result is a distinctive expression of Tuscan terroir, bringing together the structure, energy and savoury character of Sangiovese with the richness, depth and generosity of Merlot. Information Type: Red Vintage: 2019 Country: Italy Region: Tuscany Sub region: Toscana IGT Grape: 50% Sangiovese & 50% Merlot Style: Bold and Structured Sweetness: Dry ABV: 14.5% Drinking window: 2023 - 2050 Size: 750ml Food match: Beef and Venison Critics Scores We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores. As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.