A Look At The Wine Cellar - Rocca di Frassinello

Rocca di Frassinello lies on the right hillside heading north that forms on either side of the old Aurelia road and which forms a sort of canyon through which the sea wind blowing from the plain between Castiglione della Pescaia and Grosseto travels across

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Info & Booking

Rocca di Frassinello lies on the right hillside heading north that forms on either side of the old Aurelia road and which, thanks to the first major Roman road, forms a sort of canyon through which the sea wind blowing from the plain between Castiglione della Pescaia and Grosseto travels across. This constant breeze takes away any moisture from the air and provides for an even milder climate, both during the winter and summer months. The tallest hill in the area is situated right in front of the village of Giuncarico, on the right side of the Aurelia heading north. The top of that hill, which is part of the Terminuzzo estate, offers a spectacular sea view over Marina di Grosseto, all the way to the Uccellina Regional Park. 

Having taken shape thanks to an Italian-French joint venture, the nearly 90 hectares of vineyards are characterised by equally divided varieties: 50% Italian and 50% French, while all wines are blends, excluding the Baffonero which, in the spirit of the America’s Cup, serves as a challenger to Masseto, (100% Merlot), the most famous Italian wine produced by our friends, the Marchesi Frescobaldi family, owners of the Ornellaia estate. A complete opposite to the Castellare di Castellina philosophy, characterised by vines that are not blended with international ones. The first vintage was produced in 2004 and included approximately 130,000 official bottles.

Rocca di Frassinello chose Renzo Piano, just as Renzo Piano, in turn, chose Rocca di Frassinello. The motivation is rooted in the longstanding friendship that binds the famous architect to Paolo Panerai, as well as in the family legacy of a father who was a wine producer, particularly of Dolcetto. Renzo Piano has designed a cellar essential in terms of its shape and conceived not to serve as a monument to the customer or to the wine, but rather to enhance the functionality of what it represents: remaining a place where productive work unfolds – work of a specific, ritual, almost sacral nature – yet at the same time humble. Typically, wineries are characterised by a progressive and horizontal development of the premises to follow the production cycle: from the vat cellar to the barrel room and finishing up in the storehouse.

Renzo Piano has revolutionised this concept of space, posing the question of what really is the heart of a wine cellar. There, where the wine ages, remaining in barrels or bottles, where its quality improves. The answer: the barrel room set in a central underground position, making it possible to naturally maintain a stable humidity and temperature. An imposing 40 by 40 square metre space, with an enormous floor slab that stands without being supported by any columns. All around, like a 20-metre frame, the distribution of all aspects of the production cycle unfolds. The steel tanks are distributed on two sides of the area and above each one stands a chute that opens onto the roof above. The roof of the barrique in fact serves a dual purpose as the large work area created above – the churchyard as Renzo Piano calls it – while from those chutes come down the grapes carried in crates, which before descending without the stress of pumps are carefully selected on special work benches. All other production functions are distributed along the other two sides: bottling, storage, warehousing and logistics.

Private tour of the winery and of the “Etruscans and wine at the Rocca di Frassinello” exhibition, with a tasting of our wines in our technical room, accompanied by tastings of local cold cuts and cheeses.

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Prices

Children under 16 can enjoy the experience for free.

Wine won't be served to people under 18 years old.