2024 Fattoria Le Pupille Morellino di Scansano

A wine full of crunchy cherry and strawberry, with a plummy hint and some wild herbs. It's wonderfully light; a summertime quaffer! (JB)

When Elisabetta Geppetti took the reins at Le Pupille in the late 1980s, southern Tuscany was largely viewed as a viticultural wild west, prone to producing heavy, alcoholic reds devoid of structure. Geppetti single-handedly rewrote that narrative. While her flagship Saffredi proved the region could yield world-class depth, it is this baseline Morellino di Scansano that cements her legacy. Geppetti understands that the maritime warmth of Scansano can easily yield flabby, spoofed-up wines if left unchecked. Her genius lies in her vineyard management and precise picking decisions, capturing a fierce nervous energy that defies the Mediterranean sun. By keeping the winemaking entirely transparent and focusing on the grape’s natural, crunchy red fruit, she has maintained a benchmark that has remained unchanged in its intellectual focus for decades. Geppetti has spent nearly forty years ensuring that even her most accessible wine possesses the same vertical spine, architectural grip, and marine-inflected saline snap as her top crus. It remains a foundational reference point for the region, proving that true territorial typicity doesn't require a massive price tag—just an uncompromising vision.