Rocca di Frassinello : Baffonero 2019

Tasting Notes and Serving Suggestions for Rocca di Frassinello’s Baffonero 2019

Tasting

Color

The wine displays an intense, deep ruby-red color, enhanced by delicate purple highlights.

Nose

The nose reveals fine aromatic complexity dominated by notes of black fruit, notably blackberry and blueberry. Vanilla aromas imparted by barrel aging accompany these fruity fragrances. With aeration, the bouquet evolves toward notes of tobacco, chocolate, and subtle hints of coffee.

Palate

The palate is full and robust, unveiling fine complexity. The tannins, supple and refined, give the wine structure without harshness. The balance is remarkable, with a pronounced freshness that lends pleasing length and a particularly persistent finish.

Food and wine pairings

Baffonero 2019 is an ideal match for braised red meats and traditional slow-cooked dishes. It pairs perfectly with Tuscan-style game, richly seasoned roasted meats, as well as aged hard cheeses.

Serving and cellaring

Baffonero 2019 can be enjoyed now and will continue to evolve until around 2039. It is recommended to serve it at a temperature between 18 and 20°C.

An outstanding Tuscan Merlot from Maremma Toscana

The estate
Rocca di Frassinello was inaugurated in 2007 in Gavorrano, in Tuscany, the result of a unique collaboration between Paolo Panerai (Domini Castellare di Castellina) and Baron Éric de Rothschild (Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite). This 500-hectare estate, including around 90 hectares of vineyards, represents the first Italian-French joint venture in the wine sector. The estate is managed by Alessandro Cellai, chief winemaker and Executive Vice President of Domini Castellare di Castellina, in collaboration with Christian Le Sommer, winemaker for Domaines Barons de Rothschild-Lafite. Rocca di Frassinello stands out for its revolutionary architecture designed by Renzo Piano and for its environmental commitment, notably through gravity-flow winemaking and the installation of a photovoltaic system. The estate also houses an Etruscan documentation center inaugurated in 2018, bearing witness to wine production on this site dating back nearly 3,000 years.

The vineyard

Baffonero comes from a specific plot on the Rocca di Frassinello estate, located in Maremma Toscana. The vineyard benefits from a perfect exposure with a north-south-west orientation that encourages afternoon sunshine. The soils are mainly composed of schistous clay rich in marly stones, ensuring excellent drainage while naturally limiting vine vigor. This plot benefits from the constant sea breeze that passes through the canyon formed by the old Aurelia road, bringing freshness and ventilation. High planting density and rigorous vineyard management produce few, uniform, small clusters, ensuring optimal concentration.

The vintage

The 2019 vintage was marked by a spring and early summer with temperatures below seasonal averages. Rain during flowering delayed the following phenological stages, thereby lengthening the growing cycle. July, August, and especially September enjoyed very sunny conditions with high temperatures, but without excess. The significant day-night temperature variations during this period favored perfect phenolic ripeness of the Merlot. At harvest in late August, the clusters showed excellent health and an ideal juice composition, the result of meticulous canopy management and careful thinning.

Winemaking and aging

Baffonero 2019 was harvested by hand, with rigorous grape selection. After fermentation in stainless-steel tanks, the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation before being aged for 24 months in barrels, 70% of which are new. This aging period is followed by 11 months of bottle aging before release, for a total of around three years between harvest and market release.

Grape variety

Merlot (100%)