2018 Castello di Fonterutoli "Siepi" Toscana (Pre-Arrival)
SKU #1524272
97 points
James Suckling
Extremely perfumed and crystal-clear with violets, plums, raspberries, walnuts and black olives. It’s medium-to full-bodied with very fine tannins that are extremely polished and refined. The length is long and very precise. Chocolate and hazelnuts. This is the 25th anniversary of this fine merlot and sangiovese. Hard not to drink now, but better after 2022.
(9/2020)
97 points
Vinous
Siepi, Fonterutoli’s Merlot/Sangiovese blend, is absolutely gorgeous in 2018. Rich, pliant and creamy, Siepi offers all of the seductiveness of Merlot with the bright acids and grip of Sangiovese. Inky blue/purplish fruit, lavender, dried herbs, spice, licorice and new leather meld together in an open-knit, inviting Tuscan red with no hard edges and tons of allure shaped by alberese soils with a good bit of clay. The 2018 is an undeniably sexy wine with so much immediacy. (AG)
(2/2021)
96 points
Wine Advocate
I tasted this wine in a preview capacity a few months back and am coming back now with a final review. The lovely 2018 Siepi, from old vines of Sangiovese and Merlot, comes out roaring. I have long been a fan of this historic wine that so carefully blends the fruity freshness and bright flavors of the Tuscan grape with the soft and succulent background tones of the French counterpart. These two sides achieve elegance and balance in this classic vintage. To the palate, the wine is fleshed out and texturally rich. I'm happily settling on the higher part of the range of scores I had previously published. The wine has come together in seamless fashion with that extra bottle aging. (ML)
(3/2021)
95 points
Decanter
There is a sweetness here that is enveloping and seductive with baked earth undertones set against raspberry, plum, black cherry and sandalwood. Soft and caressing tannins, where the grace and aromatic power of Sangiovese is given a satiny texture and enveloping mouthfeel by the Merlot. A brilliant wine that has an identity and a sense of place. First vintage 1992. Located in Chianti Classico, the estate has a 600ha forest that practices sustainable agro-forestry and is more than carbon neutral, in fact having a positive carbon balance where the estate absorbs five times as much CO2 as it emits. 70% new oak. (JA)
(8/2020)