2019 Rocca di Frassinello Le Sughere di Frassinello

Rocca di Frassinello is a joint venture between Paolo Panerai, an Italian editor and publishing executive, and Domain Baron de Rothschild-Lafite. Panerai also owns and operates other Italian wine estates, including Castellare di Castellina in Chianti. Rocca di Frassinello’s first vineyards were planted in 2000 and the idea from the beginning has been to grow French and Italian grapes. The estate is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and other Bordeaux grapes, as well as Sangiovese and Vermentino. French and Italian viticulturists consult together at the estate, and 350,000 bottles are produced annually. The flagship wine is the Rocca di Frassinello, generally a mix of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The estate makes several blends, a pure Merlot, and a Vermentino. The wines consistently win 3 Glass awards from Gambero Rosso. In 2015 Vinous complimented the 2013 vintage and noted that “as usual, the Rocca di Frassinello wines are made in a forward, modern Maremma style with plenty of up-front appeal.”

Tuscany, or Toscana in Italian, is Italy’s best-known wine region and its most diverse. Historically Sangiovese was the primary grape grown in Tuscany and Chianti was considered the purest expression of Sangiovese. Sangiovese and its many clones are still important, and they are the grapes used for the Tuscan appellations of Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano, Chianti, Chianti Classico and Carmignano. But in the last 50 years innovative producers, many of them in southwestern Tuscany in the area called Maremma, have also planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. The tradition defying producers have blended those varietals with Sangiovese to produce dazzling wines that do not conform to Italy’s appellation regulations. Such wines are called Super Tuscans and cannot be labeled with either of Italy’s highest level quality designations, which are in order of status Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantia, (DOCG), and Denominazione di Origine Controllata, (DOC). (This has not at all hindered the demand for Super Tuscans, some of which are consistently among the world’s most admired and well-reviewed wines.) Tuscany has six DOCG appellations and thirty-four DOCs. Though famous for its red wines, Tuscany also produces whites made primarily from Trebbiano and Vernaccia. There are also many Tuscan Indicazione Geographica Tipica (IGT) wines that are often an innovative blend of traditional and non-traditional grapes. This relatively new appellation status was started in 1992 as an attempt to give an official classification to Italy’s many newer blends that do fit the strict requirements of DOC and DOCG classifications. IGT wines may use the name of the region and varietal on their label or in their name.