2003 Saffredi

Le Pupille has been on tear of late. I can't think of too many estates that have made such a significant leap in quality over the last few years. This vertical of the flagships Saffredi and Poggio Valente provided a fascinating look at Le Pupille's history and development over the years. I admire proprietor Elisabetta Geppetti's willingness to show every vintage of her two top wines, which is pretty rare in a day and age where producers tend to cherry pick their best vintages for tastings like this one. As good as many of the wines are, there is a major improvement in quality and consistency across the board beginning in 2000.

Le Pupille is located in the south of the Tuscan Maremma, in the province of Grosseto, a region best known for the Sangiovese-based Morellino di Scansano. Geppetti's first vintage was 1985. At the time, Le Pupille was a small winery with just 6 hectares of vineyards and was really more of a hobby than a pure commercial venture. The family had close ties with Giacomo Tachis, who suggested grafting Cabernet Sauvignon onto existing Sangiovese rootstocks. The first Saffredis (1987-1990) were 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the original estate's original vineyard holdings. Malolactic fermentation took place in barrel and the wine was aged in 100% new oak. Some of the early vintages remain brilliant, even if the oak is a bit overwhelming.

Geppetti planted the Saffredi vineyard proper in 1986 with a combination of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Alicante, Maremma's version of Grenache. Tachis continued to oversee winemaking until 1997. Riccardo Cotarella made the wines from 1997 to 1999. For whatever the reasons, this is not a particularly distinguished period in the estate's history. The wines from the 1990s are in general less interesting than more recent vintages. It's almost as if the elegant and rustic elements of the wines are at battle with each other in these years.

Quality and consistency increased noticeably when Christian Le Sommer, former winemaker at Chateau Latour, took over winemaking with the 2000 vintage. Le Sommer introduced malolactic fermentation in steel, which is one of the reasons the post-2000 wines retain incredible freshness, aromatic complexity and nuance. With the 2004 vintage, Alicante was replaced with Syrah. Geppetti's view is that Alicante at times conferred a rustic element to the wines. It's hard to argue with her on that point. From about 2004 onwards, Saffredi has made another major move and is now among the very finest wines being produced anywhere in Italy. Some of that may be related to the elimination of Alicante in the blend, but also the increased age of the vineyards and greater attention to cooperage are all positive factors in the evolution of the wine. Today Saffredi is aged for 15-18 months in 100% new barrels, but the oak is rarely felt. Recent vintages have been nothing less than brilliant.

Poggio Valente is mostly Sangiovese, with some Merlot and a small percentage of Alicante. The wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in steel and is aged in French oak barrels (50% new) for 12-15 months, depending on the year. Geppetti purchased Poggio Valente in 1996. The vineyard was planted predominantly with Sangiovese plus some Alicante. Substantial work was required to get the vineyard in shape. Geppetti replanted half of the 15 hectares and replaced the existing Alicante with Merlot. The younger vineyards were used for the first time in 2006. With the addition of the new plots, the presence of Alicante has dropped significantly as a percentage of the final blend.

It's hard to believe that this year Elisabetta Geppetti is getting ready for her 22nd harvest. Geppetti took over her family's small estate when she was just a teenager and has gradually increased her holdings from the original 6 hectares to the current 70 hectares. Le Pupille, located in the province of Grosseto, makes a range of excellent wines. The Morellinos in particular offer highly pleasurable drinking at reasonable prices. The estate benefits from a close proximity to the sea and the constant breezes which give the vines some respite from the heat, especially critical in vintages such as 2003. “My goal has always been to make important wines that are faithful to our terroir,”says Geppetti. In the beginning the estate had a lot of help from oenologist Giacomo Tachis who helped conceive many of the wines, including the estate's Saffredi. First produced in 1985, Saffredi was among the first wines made from non-indigenous varietals. “We've worked with three oenologists, each of whom have interpreted the wines in a slightly different way. Our early wines definitely show the hand of Tachis. From 1997 to 1999 the wines were made by Riccardo Cotarella and he succeeded in making the wines perhaps slightly more approachable at a young age. Today Christian Le Sommer is making the wines in a style that requires a little more bottle age, so we tend to release our wines a little later than most.” One of the distinguishing features of Le Pupille is the prominent use of Alicante (Grenache) in the wines. “There was a period in the 1600s when the region was under Spanish rule, so Alicante has been typical of the zone for centuries. We wanted to preserve the tradition of this varietal in making wines that capture the essence of our Maremma terroir, which is quite separate and distinct from the rest of Tuscany.”

Other wines tasted: 2005 Morellino di Scansano (Elisabetta Geppetti label).