Winemaker Notes
A rich, deep and complex wine that interprets what was a particularly warm and sunny year. The taste reveals a great balance due to a high natural acidity that gives a pleasant freshness and firmness.
Blend: 100% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
The nose opens sweet with vanilla bean and blackberry compote, then turns savory with aromas of pepper, graphite and old leather. The palate is similarly balanced, as sweet berries and milk chocolate contrast with a continued peppery earthiness, before a wild mint finish. Substantial but polished tannins make for a well-constructed wine.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Due to be released in the US in March of 2025, the 2020 Scipio is entirely Cabernet Franc and was raised for 12 months in barrique. It pours a deep red color and has a great nose with notes of blackcurrants, delicate highlights of graphite, pressed flowers, and a kiss of menthol. Full-bodied but elegant, it has snappy, ripe acidity, crunchy fruit, ripe tannins, and notes of savory dark minerals that last long on the palate. It’s a beautiful Cabernet Franc offering lots of purity and freshness without sacrificing ripeness. Drink it over the next 15 years.
-
James Suckling
Very aromatic, with blackcurrants and lots of fresh herbs such as thyme, rosemary and bay leaves. Medium-bodied with very fine tannins and a focused and fine sensibility. Graphite at the end. Racy. Pure cabernet franc. Better in three or four years, but already fun to taste.
-
Vinous
The 2020 Scipio, the estate’s top selection of Cabernet Franc, is terrific. Aromatic, deep and structured, the 2020 has a ton to offer. Blackberry, plum, espresso, menthol and mocha are all very nicely delineated. The style is one that seeks textural concentration and depth more than anything else. I would like to think a lighter hand might help even more varietal character come through.
Tenuta Sette Cieli is located between Bolgheri and Castagneto Carducci, on the Tuscan coast 1,300 above sea level. The 173-acre estate overlooks terraced vineyards and the Tyrrhenian Sea, and is surrounded by the lush woods of Monteverdi Marittimo. Seventeen acres of high-density vineyards are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec. Because of Tenuta Sette Cieli’s respect for nature, the winery has chosen organic practices to safeguard the environment. Everything is done by hand in the vineyards, with careful attention to each detail. The journey continues in the cellar where the winery employs single-variety vinification. Fermentation starts with wild yeasts, and the final selection of the wines is done only after a period of barrel aging in French oak barrels.
Tenuta Sette Cieli's Elena Pozzolini gained winemaking experience in Argentina, Australia, and California before returning to Italy and joining Tenuta Sette Cieli as Winemaker and CEO in 2013. Since then, Elena has had her hands in every aspect of the winery, from making the wine to managing the business to handling export sales. "The idea that led me to pursue this career and this profession was the fascinating part of producing wine, the transformation of a fruit into a drink so complex and varied dependent on the grapes, the climate, the terroir," she says highlighting her passion behind the variability of the work. Elena says that her experience around the world taught her to approach the wine industry with open-mindedness and experimentation. "I think that women have a different approach, perhaps you could even say they are more attuned to the details," she says. "But everyone has their own style that allows them to make great and unique wines. Personally, my goal is to protect and respect the environment where our vines grow, trying to find the right balance in the vineyard to get the perfect fruit."
Legendary in Italy for its Renaissance art and striking landscape, Tuscany is also home to many of the country’s best red wines. Sangiovese reigns supreme here, as either the single varietal, or a dominant player, in almost all of Tuscany’s best.
A remarkable Chianti, named for its region of origin, will have a bright acidity, supple tannins and plenty of cherry fruit character. From the hills and valleys surrounding the medieval village of Montalcino, come the distinguished and age-worthy wines based on Brunello (Sangiovese). Earning global acclaim since the 1970s, the Tuscan Blends are composed solely of international grape varieties or a mix of international and Sangiovese. The wine called Vine Nobile di Montepulciano, composed of Prognolo Gentile (Sangiovese) and is recognized both for finesse and power.