▴ Tenuta Sette Cieli Scipio 2016
Tenuta Sette Cieli Scipio 2016
When Ambrogio Cremona Ratti’s mother, Erika Ratti of the famous family of silk printers in Lombardy, first bought the estate in 1998, she had in mind a place to breed her horses. She was soon drawn into the world of wine, and in 2001 planted the first 4 hectares to Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Today, the estate, near Bolgheri near the coast of Tuscany, is run by Ambrogio and comprises 120 hectares, 15 of which are under vine.
Scipio is made from the Cabernet Franc vines planted in 2001/2. It is only made in the best vintages. The vineyard is at 400 metres altitude, 8 miles from the sea, surrounded by forests and close to Sassacia’s first vineyard. The soil is very rocky, with a mix of clay and limestone, there is a constant breeze from the sea, and the vineyard is farmed organically.
2016 was a particularly successful vintage. The wine is a deep garnet colour, with an enticing nose of mountain herbs and dark berry fruit. The palate is beautifully balanced, a mix of intense fresh blackcurrants, wild herbs and dark bitter chocolate; the velvety tannins are well controlled, and the overall impression is one of elegance and purity. Drinking now, but will reward a few more years in bottle.
Price: £75 a bottle
UK stockist: Lay and Wheeler, Hedonism, Swig
Review June 2021, SK