Mazzei Castello Di Fonterutoli Phillip Cabernet Sauvignon IGT 2015 (750ml)

 

Rated 94 Points by James Suckling

 

A dark-fruited red that shows mulberries, blackberries, creme de cassis, vanilla and dark chocolate with a touch of fresh herbs and cedar.  Full body, round yet structured tannins and a chewy finish.  Drink in 2020.

 

Rated 92 Points by Vinous

 

The 2015 Philip, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, is powerful and rich in the glass, with copious blackberry jam, chocolate, spice and chocolate notes.  Deep, fleshy and bold, the Philip has a lot to offer.  Today, though, it comes across as a bit heavy and marked by the heat of the year.  It will be interesting to see if time helps the wine come together a bit more fully.

 

Rated 91 Points by Wine Advocate

 

This wine sports one of my all-time favorite front labels.  The 2015 Philip reflects the bold, contemporary and colorful themes that are reflected in the painted portrait of Philip Mazzei (1730-1816) depicted on the label.  The wine shows a beautiful appearance with brilliant ruby and dark garnet tones.  The bouquet is packed tight with black fruit, blackberry, spice, tobacco and leather.  This warm vintage delivers broader and slightly flatter fruit compared to the cooler vintages.  The fruit here is loosely knit, dark and ripe, and I would suggest a shorter drinking window as a result.  This vintage lacks the depth and dimension of the previous 2013 edition.

 

Mazzei Castello Di Fonterutoli Phillip

 

Cabernet Sauvignon IGT 2015

 

Made in Tuscany dedicated to Philip Mazzei

 

This wine is dedicated to Philip Mazzei (1730-1816), an illustrious ancestor of the family, political thinker, American Patriot and pioneer, together with Thomas Jefferson, of the viticulture in Virginia.  Made with a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon selected from our estates, Philip is the quintessence of Tuscany.  "The great doctrine ‘All men are created equal’, incorporated into the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, was paraphrased from the writings of Philip Mazzei, an Italian-born patriot, and close friend of Jefferson’s." (JFK, "A Nation of Immigrants")

 

Philip is an extraordinary wine created to honor the Mazzei family’s great ancestor, Philip Mazzei.  This wine embodies the “New World” spirit of Tuscan wine-making, best represents the revolutionary character of Philip Mazzei, and expresses the Mazzei’s family desire to pursue life, liberty and happiness.  Philip is a quintessentially Tuscan wine.  It brings together the fragrance and elegance of wines produced in the famous area of Chianti Classico with the opulence and power of wines from the more recently discovered Maremma region.  The combination of Cabernet Sauvignon from two different Tuscan estates creates aromatic complexity, depth of color and powerful structure while simultaneously lending minerality, elegance and finesse to the wine.

 

The Man

 

Philip Mazzei was known as a passionate grape-grower, liberal thinker, and citizen of the world.

 

The Humanitarian Legacy

 

His ideal inspired Thomas Jefferson’s introduction in The Declaration of Independence stating “All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness".

 

Vintage 2015

 

The vintage 2015 was characterized by a rainy winter which resulted in a good supply of water.  A mild spring and a hot summer.

 

Some rainfall in late July and after mid August led to a drop in temperatures, which have established the ideal conditions for the good ripening of the grapes with the accumulation of aromatic substances and polyphenol, ideal to produce a balanced wine, rich in structure, with complex aromas and long aging potential.

 

Beginning of the Harvest:  July 9, 2015

 

End of the Harvest:  August 10, 2015

 

Rainfalls (sum of rainfall between April 1st and September 30th):  228mm

 

Evaluation:  Very Good / Outstanding

 

 

Castello Di Fonterutoli

 

Location:  Castellina in Chianti (Siena)

 

Property:  650 hectares of overall area (110 vineyards - 114 parcels)  From 220 to 570 m a.s.l.

 

Vines: 

 

Chianti Classico:  Sangiovese, Malvasia, Colorino
 

IGT:  Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon

 

The Temple of Sangiovese

 

Castello Di Fonterutoli

 

The excellence of the wines of Castello di Fonterutoli is renowned worldwide and represents one of the points of reference for the whole Chianti Classico.

 

An Avantgarde Winery

 

The true link between the past and the future, the Fonterutoli winery dominates the estate and farm slopes looking to Siena from a vantage point, but its heart is beating within.

 

A modern winery but at the same time the owner of centuries-old knowledge, as only a family member could design: in-fact Agnese Mazzei is the designer of the innovative project with low environmental impact, where aesthetics meet funcionality.

 

The architectural project realizes a production project

 

An important project on three levels, to allow the grapes collected in the plaza to "drop" during the various phases of the wine making process and age in wood barrels in the most natural manner:  The force of gravity.

 

The special 74 wine making steel vats provided with a tapered cylindrical shape and capacity for 100 hl, allow processing the grapes from each parcel separately to preserve their biodiversity and produce a series of small scale wine batches that together with the judicious use of treading and long maceration, allow obtaining wines with exceptional qualities of color and particularly smooth and elegant tannins.

 

At 15 meters of depth, in the vast cellar where more than 3000 oak barrels dwell, the temperature and the right degree of humidity is guaranteed by five completely natural water streams flowing through the naked rock walls.

 

Tuscana Wine Architecture

 

Our wine cellar is part Toscana Wine Architecture, a network of 14 wineries of quality and design, signed by great masters of contemporary architecture

 

The Vineyards

 

The realm of diversity

 

The wisdom of Mazzei knew how to transform the arid and rocky land of Fonterutoli into a bounty, which adopted diversity into its main style.

 

• 7 Terroirs
• 110 hectares of Vineyards
• 114 Parcels

 

The estate covers and overall surface of 650 hectares, where "only" 110 are for special vineyards organized into seven zones ranging between 220 and 570 meters above the sea level, which are further divided into 114 single parcels.  All in perfect harmony with other secondary cultivars and woods, an ideal environment for various kinds of free roaming wild game.

 

Territory and identity

 

A unique soil, where the dissolution of Alberese and sandstone rock confers a mineral, complex core.

 

The grapes from 114 parcels are harvested by hand, turned into wine and aged in wood barrels separately, transforming the value of diversity into an extraordinary breadth of bouquet and complexity.

 

The excellence of the wines of Castello di Fonterutoli is renowned worldwide and represents one of the points of reference for the whole Chianti Classico.

 

Fonterutoli also produces Chianti Classico DOP Castello di Fonterutoli Extra Virgin Olive Oil, extraordinary in its refinement and personality thanks to the varieties of frantoio, leccino, noraiolo, and pendolino olives, and a proprietary olive press that presses the olives in an oxygen free atmosphere.

 

Still at Fonterutoli, Carla Mazzei is dedicated to growing Lavender, the essence of which is used to create the line of cosmetic products that carries her name.

 

Mazzei

 

State of The Art Since 1435

 

Our past is our future

 

Since more than six hundred years, the Mazzei family produces unique wines with spirit and passion renewed from generation to generation.

 

At Fonterutoli, as well as at Belguardo and Zisola, resides the same philosophy that aims to promote local vine varieties as an expression of the identity of the region, in respect of diversity and nature, via sustainable agriculture and improvements mindfull of the delicate hydro-geologic balance, in order to prevent soil erosion and maximize water reserves in the region.

 

All of this in order to be able to hand the land intact to future generations.

 

"I like to think to our family tree as a sturdy and generous vine plant because all Mazzei's history is constantly connected to vineyards, cellars and wine." - Marchese Lapo Mazzei, Cavaliere del Lavoro

 

Philosophy

 

Winemakers for 25 generations

 

For over six centuries, our family has dedicated itself to winemaking, with a passion and commitment that have been handed down from one generation to the next.

 

The continuing search for new quality horizons has led us to extend our activities on various enological fronts, branching out from our historic roots, at the Castello di Fonterutoli, in the heart of Chianti Classico, towards two new and promising locations, in the Maremma region of Tuscany and in Zisola, in southeastern Sicily.

 

We intend to enhance their expressive potential through the application of our winemaking expertise, while respecting the unique characteristics of each of these splendid "terroirs".

 

Our constant adherence to these values is reflected in the quality of all our wines, satisfying the palates of "connoisseurs" the world over, who know they can rely on the name Mazzei to be one of the leaders of the Italian winemaking world.

 

This is the spirit with which we work, in the hope of continuing to merit the esteem of our clients, now and in the future.