Caggio – Ipsus is the latest project by one of Italian wine’s most illustrious families, the Mazzei, renowned for their Tuscan viticultural heritage, with roots stretching back to the Italian Renaissance. In 2006, the family purchased Caggio — one of the most coveted single-vineyard designations in Tuscany — and began their conversion of the property to organic and regenerative farming. It took nearly a decade before the winery released its first wine, the 2015 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione, 100% Sangiovese grown over 6.5 hectares (160 acres) of soil rich in clay and limestone (alberese). The vineyards are divided into six parcels, each of which is vinified separately. In certain years, even smaller sections of the vineyards are vinified separately. This small “clos” is surrounded by olive groves and pristine woods. The wines are fermented spontaneously and then aged mostly in tonneaux, of which roughly 80 percent is new each year. Some of the wine is also aged in traditional large casks (botte). The name Ipsus is Latin, meaning “he himself.” As the family has noted, they wanted to produce a benchmark, 100% Sangiovese Chianti Classico Gran Selezione, a wine that would speak for itself, a wine bold in its purity and terroir expression.