Fattoria Le Pupille was a farm belonging to the Gentili family of Pisa, known for having founded the famous "Gentile Galenic Institute" in the city in 1917, which played an important role in the development of pharmaceuticals in Italy.

The name derives from the presence of 2 farms on the top of 2 hills facing the Argentario Promontory, located one opposite the other, near the historic center of Pereta, which in the old maps of the 19th century are marked as "upward pupil" and "pupil down." They have always been called Le Pupille, the pupils.

For many years, there will be no vineyards around us, but cork oaks, dense forests and Mediterranean scrub, the most classic of the Maremma landscapes of the past. Like many other typical Tuscan realities, Le Pupille was initially a real estate full of cattle, large wheat fields and a small oil production. The ancient custom of cultivating the vine was limited to a few rows of Sangiovese. In the 60s, it was decided to plant a couple of hectares of vineyards to drink wine with the family and give it to the closest friends. At that time the dignity of the Maremma as a territory with great winemaking potential was not recognized and Morellino di Scansano was a simple and pleasant local wine, intended for daily consumption, but certainly not aspiring to deal with the big Italian appellations. This corner of Tuscany was talked about above all for its unspoiled and wild natural beauty, a land of proud farmers and huge estates.

Le Pupille's first bottled wines date from the 1970s, when Alfredo Gentili made Bianco di Pereta and Rosso di Pereta, bottles that were also used in part as giveaways from the family pharmaceutical industry. Then, in 1978, the Morellino di Scansano document arrived and Alfredo Gentili not only immediately entered his vineyard, now of almost 5 hectares of Sangiovese and Alicante, but also, like a true pioneer, already at that year's harvest he came out with the first official label of the new denomination. But Gentili had a great friendship with a well-known oenologist, Giacomo Tachis, who firmly believed in a quality oenological future for the Maremma, where, according to him, all natural and cultural factors were present and necessary to create great wines: marine perfumes , brightness, sun, sea and mountain winds.

The Doctor began giving his advice to Le Pupille in 1982 and, from the first vintage, he was joined by the young and passionate Elisabetta Geppetti, Fredi's daughter-in-law. Who Grew up between the Maremma and the countryside of Pisa. Elisabetta, a woman of great charm, tells that since she was a child, she had a great love for the land, which later became a passion for wine.

Le Pupille's first bottled wines date from the 1970s, when Alfredo Gentili made Bianco di Pereta and Rosso di Pereta, bottles that were also used in part as giveaways from the family pharmaceutical industry. Then, in 1978, the Morellino di Scansano document arrived and Alfredo Gentili not only immediately entered his vineyard, now of almost 5 hectares of Sangiovese and Alicante, but also, like a true pioneer, already at that year's harvest he came out with the first official label of the new denomination. But Gentili had a great friendship with a well-known oenologist, Giacomo Tachis, who firmly believed in a quality oenological future for the Maremma, where, according to him, all natural and cultural factors were present and necessary to create great wines: marine perfumes , brightness, sun, sea and mountain winds. The Doctor began giving his advice to Le Pupille in 1982 and, from the first vintage, he was joined by the young and passionate Elisabetta Geppetti, Fredi's daughter-in-law. Who Grew up between the Maremma and the countryside of Pisa. Elisabetta, a woman of great charm, tells that since she was a child, she had a great love for the land, which later became a passion for wine.

The Fattoria de Pupille, owned by the family of her husband, whose grandmother was originally from Scansano, was the favorite place where they spent their summer vacations and here, when she was still a student, she was lucky, at the age of 18, to meet Giacomo Tachis, an amazing man who held her hand for 3 years. Elisabetta was young and full of enthusiasm, but she knew almost nothing about grapes, except that her grandfather harvested them on his one and a half hectare vineyard for household needs or to give a few bottles to friends. In 1983 the decision was made to graft the Sangiovese di Pereta vineyard with Cabernet: the idea was to combine Cabernet and Sangiovese to raise the quality of Morellino.

With the splendid 1985 vintage, the first encouraging results came from Cabernet and Elisabetta wanted to bet on it, also out of respect for the viticultural passion of my father-in-law Fredi, who had died prematurely that year. Again in 1985, to expand the estate, 4 new hectares were planted, with the help of Tachis, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Alicante.

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Elisabetta and Tachis decided to concentrate much of their efforts on Morellino. An ancient Tuscan variety already cultivated by the Etruscans that is none other than the Sangiovese, called Morellino in reference to the horse of the Maremma farmers. Proud and indomitable, like she came from the Maremma. Elisabetta's objective was to bring Morellino to its maximum expression, having the clear feeling that this little wine had something inside, that it was worth counting outside the borders of the Maremma.

After a few vintages dedicated to small productions, everything accelerates when Elisabetta, after Fredi's death, takes full charge of the winery. Leaving university classrooms, he dedicated himself full time to the vines, wine and the creation of new wines with the unconditional technical support of Giacomo Tachis, inaugurating an important season of delicious, refined, excellent and extremely pleasant wines.
It is at this moment, with passion as the banner, that the family winery begins to grow, gradually becoming a high-level winery. But Elisabetta, strengthened by her innate intuition, harbored a strong desire to discover, in the field of quality viticulture, all the unexpressed potential of this much-loved field, creating a great Maremma wine that would demonstrate all the vocation of this wonderful terroir. .

Meanwhile, Tachis appreciated the quality of this Maremma Cabernet Sauvignon more and more and advised Elisabetta to pay close attention to it, so that with the 1987 vintage the first three thousand bottles of Saffredi were born, a wine that would become the iconic from LePupille. A complex pure Cabernet Sauvignon that Elisabetta immediately decides to dedicate to Fredi, her mentor in the world of wine and grandfather of 2 of her 5 children.

Thanks to Saffredi, who immediately came to the attention of experts, the excellence of Maremma began to be known far beyond its borders. This great super Tuscan was pure Cabernet Sauvignon for the first four vintages (1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990), then, starting in 1991, grapes from the new vineyard planted in 1985 were also added and today it has become a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot.

Meanwhile, after years of hard work to improve the vineyards added to her winemaking vocation, Elisabetta Geppetti will be the first female president of a Consortium. In 1992 he took over the reins of the newly established Morellino di Scansano Consortium at a delicate moment. Having to identify the guidelines of the local wine policy, as well as guarantee the quality of the products and their visibility in the market.

Le Pupille has become one of the most important productive realities of the denomination, a winery capable of expressing, year after year, surprising and elegant wines with strong territorial adhesion.

After having worked hand in hand with the prestigious winemaker Giacomo Tachis, Elisabetta surrounded herself with the best. From 2000 to 2011, I was advised by the famous French oenologist Christian Le-Sommer, Consultant for Château Latour. Today he has the support of two of his 5 children, Clara and Ettore who are in charge of specific areas in the winery and Luca D'Attoma, another great winemaker from Italy, who advises Le Pupille.

``The serious viticulturist makes the wine as he feels it, the inspiration comes from the land and the harmony achieved with it; In this way, wine is born from the hand of man as nature wants it to be…”

GIACOMO TACHIS

``Over time I understood that wine is and should be linked to the history of men. This land was and is my choice of life. How to make wine has always been my job. After a few decades, we can say that the challenge of creating great wines in the land of Maremma has in fact earned Le Pupille a fame that goes far beyond the Grosseto area.”

ELISABETTA GEPPETTI