Winemaker Notes
Bright yellow with greenish tints. On the nose, prevalence of white flowers and notes of cut grass evolve in mineral tones. Fresh and persistent in the mouth.
Perfect for aperitifs, crustacea, raw fish, white meats and fresh cheeses, as well as with vegetable based first courses.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Plenty of cooked limes and pears with a creamy texture and tangy fruit at the end. Always a delicious white.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Fattoria le Pupille 2020 Poggio Argentato is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Petit Manseng, Traminer and Semillon, and the percentage of Sauvignon Blanc in this vintage was raised from 60% of the blend to 70%. This slight adjustment makes a big impact on the wine's perfumes, especially in a hot vintage such as this. Cold temperatures during pressing and the use of stainless steel helps to lock in tropical aromas, minty apple and crushed limestone. The Petit Manseng helps to give more vertical lift to the bouquet.
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
One of the most iconic Italian regions for wine, scenery and history, Tuscany is the world’s most important outpost for the Sangiovese grape. Tuscan wine ranges in style from fruity and simple to complex and age-worthy, Sangiovese makes up a significant percentage of plantings here, with the white Trebbiano Toscano coming in second.
Within Tuscany, many esteemed wines have their own respective sub-zones, including Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. The climate is Mediterranean and the topography consists mostly of picturesque rolling hills, scattered with vineyards.
Sangiovese at its simplest produces straightforward pizza-friendly Tuscan wines with bright and juicy red fruit, but at its best it shows remarkable complexity and ageability. Top-quality Sangiovese-based wines can be expressive of a range of characteristics such as sour cherry, balsamic, dried herbs, leather, fresh earth, dried flowers, anise and tobacco. Brunello, an exceptionally bold Tuscan wine, expresses well the particularities of vintage variations and is thus popular among collectors. Chianti is associated with tangy and food-friendly dry wines at various price points. A more recent phenomenon as of the 1970s is the “Super Tuscan”—a red wine made from international grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah, with or without Sangiovese. These are common in Tuscany’s coastal regions like Bolgheri, Val di Cornia, Carmignano and the island of Elba.