Rocca di Montegrossi

Rocca di Montegrossi is located near Monti in Chianti, one of the finest sections of Chianti Classico, about 7 km south of Gaiole in Chianti. Marco Ricasoli Firidolfi, current owner of the estate, is a descendant of Bettino Ricasoli, who played a central role in the history of the Chianti Classico region and laid the foundations for Chianti Classico wine.
The owner’s passion for vineyards and fieldwork drives his entrepreneurial spirit. Indeed, together with consultant agronomists Dr. Stefano Dini and Dr. Dario Ceccatelli and the vineyards’ supervisor, Slavko Grabovac, Marco Ricasoli Firidolfi personally oversees all the operations in the vineyards. His goal is to reach the perfect balance between growth and production through daily care of the vines, from pruning to abundant targeted organic manuring of the soil and more (green harvest, grape thinning, crown pruning, and defoliation a few weeks prior to the harvest).

Harvest is manual and carried out in three phases to guarantee that the grapes are selected and picked only when they are perfectly ripe. Grapes are collected into small baskets. Geologically, the territory of Monti in Chianti is mainly composed of limestone and marlstone that are rich in calcium (Marna Calcarea) and contain a certain amount of clays. The presence of limestones and marly limestones, which coexist with sands and clays, not only gives the right draining to the ground, but also influences the wines’ minerality, elegance and structure.
Their cellar is designed to preserve the quality of the grapes with a modern approach to viticulture: from a horizontal destemmer to thermo-conditioned glass lined cement tanks to the upright conical Allier oak vats with temperature control and computer-governed pneumatic plungers for punch downs.

The aging of the red wines in Allier oak barriques and tonneaux is tailored to the specific wines and vintages. Finally, the winery’s crown jewel is the vinsantaia, located in a well-ventilated space up under the rafters. Here, in an airy 90-square meter room 160 nets hang from the ceiling, upon which bunches of grapes are hung, and inspected every week until they finish drying in the month of December or January of the year following the harvest. The little must obtained from the pressing goes into very small casks (either 50 or 100 litres), each made from a variety of woods (oak, cherry, mulberry).

The estate produces two Chianti Classicos. Both are based on Sangiovese which, in this area, yields an extremely elegant, balanced wine with pleasant minerality. To further increase the complexity of the wines, two indigenous complementary varietals are added: Canaiolo (in 2000 a further vineyard was planted using cuttings from selected vines in the estate’s older vineyards) and Pugnitello. Monti in Chianti is one of the areas of Chianti Classico best suited to the cultivation of the vine. For this reason Rocca di Montegrossi’s owner Marco Ricasoli Firidolfi decided to also plant varietals that have nothing to do with tradition, but that allow the terroir to different expressions. Planted in 1997, these varietals are used to make an IGT Toscana: Geremia, a Merlot (about 70%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (about 30%) blend that offers a different interpretation of the terroir’s potential. Geremia represents Monti’s unique expression of soil and climate through nonindigenous varietals. Starting from vintage 2015, a new IGT wine has been added to the portfolio thanks to the owner’s great intuition: Ridolfo, a 50-50% blend of Pugnitello and Cabernet Sauvignon. A unique wine, bottled only in numbered magnums and jeroboams, for collectors of exciting and iconic wines.

Last but not least, the renowned Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC, a typical local product and, above all, the producer’s true passion and the pride of Rocca di Montegrossi.