Roccafiore - 'Rosato' - Rosé of Sangiovese - Umbria, IT - 2021

Roccafiore’s Rosato is made entirely of Sangiovese. Picked early for acidity, with a very short skin maceration (3-4 hours), fermented without yeast addition in stainless steel. Very pale pink color, with aromas and flavors of wild strawberries and a hint of herbs. Fresh acidity is balanced with juicy fruitiness. A perfect lighter summer rosé. Very versatile, perfect with salmon or tuna. Screw-cap for consistency.

Drew's Notes; This wine is vivid, turned all the way up, and so effing good. That's all. Thanks!

One of the best ways we find new producers is suggestions from current producers. This tip came from Angela Fronti, our Chianti Classico producer and a great wine-taster. Roccafiore was her suggestion: fresh, delicious Grechetto di Todi and Sangiovese, both grown near Todi in Umbria. Indigenous varieties, low-input but absolutely clean winemaking, dry wines (not a given these days), general deliciousness.

Cantina Roccafiore farms 15 hectares (almost 40 acres) of vineyards in the rolling hills of the Umbrian countryside near the town of Todi. The Baccarelli family (father and son) bought the property in 1999, planted the local Grechetto and Sangiovese along with small parcels of Moscato Giallo, Sagrantino, and Montepulciano, and made their first vintage in 2005. Formerly in the energy business, they kept a mind toward sustainability from the beginning, building a renewable facility, using organic fuels for their tractors, and farming organically. Young Luca Baccarelli feels that this form of cultivation makes for soils richer in organic materials, fewer vine diseases, and healthier grapes. (See more on their sustainability program below). The training system is Guyot, on terraced hillsides; the soils are whitish clay, rich in limestone and chalk; and all vineyards face South East catching fresh winds from the nearby mountains. There are 6,500 vines per hectare, mostly from massal selection, and the yield is 85 quintals of grapes per hectare (roughly 3.5 tons per acre). Indigenous yeast fermentations. They use only estate-grown fruit.

“Working in a sustainable way, for us, means:

reducing the co2 using solar panels, all the required energy comes from this source;

reducing any environmental impact using organic fuels on the tractors (sunflower oil);

using light-glass bottles for reducing the weight on the shipping process;

saving rainwaters in a reservoir that is used for irrigation (not of vineyards);

low intervention and organic farming system on the vineyards for the care of the soil;

reducing the use of electric machinery on the winery using the gravity;

the winery is very efficient in terms of energetic consumption and refrigeration (production on the basement).”