Mazzei, Siepi, 2024 - Magnum
Mazzei, Siepi, 2024 - Magnum
- 150cl
- 14.5%
- Red Still
- Merlot, Sangiovese
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Drinking window: 2029 - 2047
Est. delivery in 2027
Siepi is a 50/50 blend of Merlot and Sangiovese from the Fonterutoli estate in Castellina in Chianti, first produced in 1992 as a joint project between the Mazzei family and Marchese Piero Antinori. The two grapes come from a single vineyard of the same name, and the blend is the point: Merlot gives flesh and roundness, while Sangiovese brings its characteristic acidity and structural backbone.
Siepi consistently sits in a sweet spot between power and elegance that few Super Tuscans manage. It’s always been an impressive wine, but recent vintages have reached new heights. The vines are now in their prime, and there’s an unmistakable touch of winemaking magic that’s lifted Siepi firmly into the top tier of Tuscan reds.
The Siepi vineyard sits at around 350 metres on the Fonterutoli estate, facing south and south-west to maximise ripening in what can be a challenging altitude for full maturity. Soils are predominantly galestro — the crumbly, schistose limestone that defines much of Chianti Classico's best sites — mixed with alberese clay, which gives both drainage and water retention through dry summers. The combination keeps yields naturally low and pushes the vines to develop concentration without losing freshness. Nights are cool enough to preserve the aromatic lift that separates Siepi from flatter, warmer-climate Merlots.
Siepi is classified as an IGT Toscana, which might sound like a demotion but is in fact a badge of independence — the wine predates and sits outside the rules of the Chianti Classico DOCG, which until recently didn't permit a Merlot-dominant or equal blend under its label. IGT Toscana gave Mazzei the freedom to make the wine they wanted without compromise. Many of Tuscany's most celebrated and expensive bottles carry the same classification for the same reason. It's a reminder that appellation rules describe tradition, not quality.
The 2024 growing season in Tuscany was defined by a cool, wet spring followed by a summer that never quite committed to the heat Sangiovese craves — periodic rain events through the summer kept growers watchful and selective work in the vineyard essential. Those who managed canopies well and harvested at the right moment came out ahead; those who hesitated paid for it. It was a vintage that rewarded attentiveness rather than simply good fortune, and the best producers — particularly in Chianti Classico and Montalcino — rose to that challenge.
What landed in the cellar was fresher and more lifted than the riper, more muscular style that warmer years like 2022 tend to produce. Sangiovese shows bright acidity and firm structure with real energy behind it — less about sheer density, more about definition and length. It is too early to draw firm conclusions on the very best Brunello and Riserva releases, which will need time to resolve, but the Rosso and Chianti-level wines are already drinking well and offering genuine pleasure without demanding patience.
OUR GROWERS
Mazzei
