Questo vino
Vineyard and terroir
The fruit comes from the estate's own vineyards, on mixed, limestone-rich soils close to the sea, which helps it ripen well. The text calls Maremma's terroir one of great potential. It describes the Italian-French character that defines the winery's style and the wines of the Maremma terroir.
Grapes
The Sangiovese appears in the text under the name Sangioveto.
Vinification
Merlot is harvested in late August and Sangioveto in late September. Fermentation takes place in steel vats, followed by malolactic fermentation. At the winery, grapes are unloaded on a terrace at harvest and, after a first sorting, pass down into the cellar by gravity.
Ageing
The wine spends 4 months in wooden barriques, then a further 6 months in bottle. The short time in wood adds character while keeping the wine especially fresh and aromatic.
Label / history
The Pia on the label is Pia de' Tolomei, who is mentioned by Dante in the "Divine Comedy" and appears in many Romantic-era works. She was originally from Siena and is thought to have lived in the 13th century; her husband killed her. Her remains lie at Castel di Pietra, near the Rocca di Frassinello estate.
Rocca di Frassinello was the first joint Italian-French winemaking project. The Italian partner is Castellare di Castellina, owned by Paolo Panerai. The French partner is Baron Éric de Rothschild, owner of Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) in Bordeaux. The first wines were released in 2004.
The winery building, designed by Renzo Piano, is of red brick with a rectangular tower, on top of a low hill beside the road between Rome and Pisa. Its cellar is shaped like an ancient Roman arena and holds 2,500 barrels, lit by sunlight through an opening in the ceiling. The terrace looks over vineyard-covered hills, fields and hunting grounds.
The name Maremma comes from the Spanish "marisma", meaning marsh. The land was drained first by the Etruscans, then by the Romans, and in the 1930s under Mussolini. Today Maremma is a smaller area, roughly the province of Grosseto.
