The 2013 Siepi is a knockout wine that hits all the sense with just the right level of complexity. The wine is soft, brooding, velvety and long in persistency. It is made with equal parts Merlot and Sangiovese and both grapes bring their best assets to the blend. Sangiovese shows an upfront personality with territory-driven tones of small berry and spice. This grape also offers beautifully fresh acidity. The Merlot component plays a strong background role and adds softness, lushness and richness. This is a new wine that needs a few more years of bottle aging. Otherwise it can be aged or consumed in the near-term. – Monica Larner (eRobertParker.com)

The strongest suit of this wine is its deep sense of integration and harmony. The Mazzei 2013 Siepi comes from a vintage that was not without its farming challenges, but that ultimately brought quality fruit into the winery. Yields were also up, and this vintage saw 30,000 bottles produced (or more than double the previous year). Another fun fact is that this vintage saw a short harvest window, with Merlot off the vines on September 11th followed by the Sangiovese just 17 days later. There is usually a longer gap between the two varieties. Siepi starts with soft fruit and delicate spice, and it shows an ever-fluid personality in the glass, slowly bringing to the nose a nice succession of background aromas, ranging from cassis to wild rose.

Rich black fruit, lots of bitter black olive character. Very Tuscan – tough and chewy, but well balanced and capable of long age. Not elegant, but a well-built big-hitter. (RH)