Located in the hilly part of Maremma, a coastal area of western central Italy, Fattoria Le Pupille produces one of the most popular Super Tuscans, under the label Saffredi. The 100-point Fattoria Le Pupille Saffredi 2012 came ninth in the JamesSuckling.com Top 100 Wines of 2015 and it was included in our 2016 list of Top 10 Super Tuscans.

Usually James visits with owner Elisabetta Geppetti and her daughter Clara Gentili every summer to taste their latest wines, but for obvious reasons this was not possible this year. Instead, the group tasted some of the new releases over Zoom on July 24.

They started with the Fattoria Le Pupille Morellino Di Scansano Riserva 2017, which James found bright, fruity and balanced. They moved onto the pure sangiovese Fattoria Le Pupille Toscana Poggio Valente 2018. “It’s medium-to full-bodied with refined tannins and a clean, fruity finish,” James said, also noting its elegance and drinkability. They finished with the Fattoria Le Pupille Maremma Toscana Saffredi 2018, which reminded James of traditional wines of the 80s and 90s. He said the Saffredi shows a “fantastic nose … with currant, sage, rosemary and rose-petal character.”

You can hear more of what they thought of the wines as well as their opinions on the vintages in the video below.