Tasting Report: Morellino di Scansano

Morellino di Scansano is probably the biggest underachiever of all appellations in Tuscany. Located in the region of the Maremma near the costal town of Grosseto, Morellino di Scansano was considered in the 1990s to be the new Chianti Classico for the region by many vintners.

There was a land rush to buy and to plant vineyards. Acreage went to just more than 1,000 acres in the early 1990s to close to 9,000 in the early 2000s. It was planted mostly with Sangiovese (Morellino is the local name for it), but others planted international varieties to make super Tuscan reds and whites. Vineyard land was cheap in the beginning, but tripled and quadrupled in price as more and more planted.

Elisabetta Geppetti, the dynamic owner of Fattoria Le Pupille (pictured), was one of the main reasons many believed that Morellino di Scansano would be the next big thing. Her simple Morellino with a Burgundy colored label was one of the best values in Tuscany, and her single vineyard Morellino, Poggio Valente, was one of the top reds from the region. Her super Tuscan red – Saffredi – is one of the top reds of Tuscany. It was first made in the early 1980s.

Anyway, there’s a lot of mediocre Morellino now being made. Luckily, most is sold in Italy. This all said, I was happy to find a dozen current vintage Morellinos that are outstanding quality after a blind tasting in my Italian office. The top one – no surprises – was the single vineyard Morellino from Geppetti: 2007 Poggio Valente.

Also tasted, but not receiving marks of 90 points or more:

2010 Aia Vecchia Morellino di Scansano

2010 Bruni Morellino di Scansano Marteto

2010 Da Vinci (Italy) Morellino di Scansano Leonardo

2009 Fattoria dei Barbi Morellino di Scansano

2010 Fattoria di Magliano Morellino di Scansano

2010 Rocca delle Macie Morellino di Scansano Campo Maccione

2009 Terre di Talamo Morellino di Scansano Tempo

2007 Terre di Talamo Morellino di Scansano Tempo Riserva