Rocca di Frassinello Rocca di Frassinello 2018

Rocca di Frassinello is a "Grand Vin", a great competition wine born out of the joint venture between Castellare di Castellina and Domaines Baron de Lafite-Rothchild and from the hands of the Castellare oenologist Alessandro Cellai and Christian Le Sommer, firstly oenologist for Latour and later becoming oenologist for all of the Rothchild estates abroad. Perfect relationship between nose and palate, wonderfully balanced and elegant, tannins extraordinarily soft and delicate. This wine rests for 18 months in small barrels of French oak and subsequently for another 12 months in the bottle before coming out on the market. Contains sulphites. Produced by Rocca di Frassinello s.r.l. - Gavorrano (GR) - Italy.

The producer

The great project which is Rocca di Frassinello was born from a small idea. Owned for almost 30 years by publisher Paolo Panerai, Castellare di Castellina, along with many other wineries in the Chianti region in the late 1990’s,was forced to accept the fact that expansion had become impossible. Historically, the natural outlet for the Chianti region had always been the Maremma. For some years there had been a shift from the Chianti hills toward the sea, especially to the north (Bolgheri) and south (Morellino and Scansano). Castellare’s scope was not to fix it’s sights on the obvious, but to find out whether there was terrain available of the same or superior quality to that of Bolgheri and Scansano in other areas of the Maremma. There wa,s and it had been discovered by Ezio Rivella and Gianni Zonin. In fact, right in the heart of the Maremma, between Bolgheri and Scansano, there exists a kind of geological platform, giving the terrain the same characteristics to that of Chianti and Montalcino and extending toward the sea. Therefore, a terrain similar to that of the two most famous in Tuscany, but with one over-riding difference: 4-5 or even 6 degrees warmer and consequently allowing the crop to mature three to four weeks earlier than that of Chianti or Montalcino. Paolo Panerai, rather than look toward the flatter areas chosen by Rivella and Zonin, decided on the hills on either side of the old Via Aurelia which, thanks to the first great Roman road, form a kind of canyon ventilated by the sea winds from the planes of Castiglione della Pescaia and Grosetto.; a constant breeze removes all humidity, making for a milder climate both summer and winter. Thus, a small idea gave birth to a great project, a great international project that was conceived in the partnership with Les Domaines Baron de Rothchild Lafite: 500 hectares, 90 of which are vineyard, bringing together the best of Italy and France in three labels, then further sanctioning the international profile of the company with a winery designed by Renzo Piano.

Best with

Stuffed pigeon, Tuscan liver pate, game, casseroles, red meat, mature cheeses.

How to serve it

It is advisable to open the bottle some minutes before serving, serve at 18-20 degrees in a transparent crystal stem glass.

How to keep

If stored well can normally be consumed up to 15–20 years, the bottle should be stacked horizontally in a cool, humid and dark cellar.