Summary
Fattoria Le Pupille is the estate that built the reputation of the Maremma. In southern Tuscany, between Grosseto and the Tyrrhenian Sea, Elisabetta Geppetti has run the property since 1985 – long before anyone took the Maremma seriously as a wine region. Across around 85 to 90 hectares of vines the house pursues two lines at once: the earthy, juicy Morellino di Scansano DOCG from Sangiovese, and Saffredi, a Bordeaux blend that has counted among Italy's great reds since 1987. Together they explain why Geppetti is known in Italy simply as the "Signora del Morellino".
History
The estate's origins lie in the 1970s, when a farm near Pereta with just a few hectares of Sangiovese produced its first estate-bottled wines. Elisabetta's father-in-law Alfredo, known to friends as "Fredi", bottled simple reds and whites from Pereta back then – everyday wines from a corner of Italy still regarded as rough backcountry.
The turning point came in 1985, when a very young Elisabetta Geppetti took over the running of the business. She had inherited a love of the vineyard from her grandfather and from her father-in-law Alfredo – along with the conviction that the Maremma was capable of far more than anyone credited. As early as 1982 the estate had released a Morellino di Scansano Riserva from the 1978 vintage, showing that age-worthy wines were possible here.
The real breakthrough, however, came in 1987 with the first Saffredi. For this wine Elisabetta Geppetti brought in the oenologist Giacomo Tachis, the man behind Sassicaia and Tignanello and therefore behind the entire Super Tuscan movement. Saffredi was among the first wines to show internationally that the coastal zone south of Bolgheri could also produce something great.
Elisabetta Geppetti was later elected the first president of the Consorzio del Morellino di Scansano, shaping the rules and self-image of the appellation. In 1996 the purchase of the Poggio Valente vineyard added a site that proved an ideal home for Sangiovese. Today her children Clara and Ettore work in the business alongside her.
Location & Terroir
The Maremma is the south-western, coastal part of Tuscany – a wide, formerly marshy landscape that was only fully drained in the twentieth century. That explains why quality viticulture arrived so late: the soils were good, the history was missing.
Le Pupille's parcels lie in several zones of the province of Grosseto: around the operating base near Istia d'Ombrone, near Pereta and near Magliano in Toscana. The average altitude is about 250 metres above sea level – high enough for cool nights, close enough to the Tyrrhenian Sea for a steady breeze. That combination is the key to the house style: the grapes ripen fully in the Mediterranean sun, yet retain freshness and aromatics thanks to the day-night temperature swing.
The soils are varied, alternating over short distances between sandy, sandstone and clay-rich sections with gravel and stony content. The well-ventilated sandstone soils of the Saffredi parcel are considered particularly suited to the late-ripening Bordeaux varieties, while heavier clay sections give Sangiovese its substance.
Style & Philosophy
Le Pupille lives a dual identity without having to choose between its two sides. On one side stands Sangiovese: the Morellino di Scansano is deliberately approachable, juicy and savoury, with red-berry fruit, Mediterranean herbs and soft tannins – a wine for the table, not the display cabinet. In the Riserva and the site-driven Sangiovese come more density, structure and oak.
On the other side stands the international line: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot combine in Saffredi to make a dark, powerful wine with ripe black fruit, cedar, herbal spice and fine-grained tannins, aged in French barriques. What is characteristic is that for all its richness the wine never feels heavy – the saline, cool note of the coastal site remains present.
Above it all sits a pragmatic ambition: the wines should make the Maremma recognisable rather than copy an international ideal. In the vineyard the estate works in a markedly natural way, respecting the large unplanted areas of woodland, olive groves and macchia that make up most of the 400-plus hectares.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range is clearly tiered:
- Saffredi – the flagship, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot, first vintage 1987
- Poggio Valente – the ambitious Sangiovese from the eponymous site acquired in 1996
- Morellino di Scansano DOCG – the calling card of the appellation, as annata and as Riserva
- Pelofino – the accessible entry-level red, a Toscana IGT
- Poggio Argentato – the estate's white wine
- Solalto – a sweet wine from dried grapes, a house speciality
The most important single site is the Saffredi parcel within the historic Pupille Vecchie area: roughly ten to fourteen hectares at about 250 metres, dedicated to the wine of the same name since 1987.
Awards
Saffredi has been among Italy's consistently highly rated reds since the 1990s and appears reliably in the top group of the leading Italian wine guides and with international critics. Just as important is the estate's role for its region: the Italian wine press calls Elisabetta Geppetti the "Signora del Morellino", and as the first president of the protective consortium she played a decisive part in Morellino di Scansano attaining DOCG status. Le Pupille therefore stands for more than a successful business – it is the starting point of the reputation the Maremma enjoys today.