ROCCA DI FRASSINELLO RELEASES BAFFONERO 2019
The wait is over. Finally the new vintage of Baffonero, Rocca di Frassinello’s 100% Merlot flagship wine, is ready to be tasted and to reveal the unique characteristics of this Maremma Toscana thoroughbred, produced in a few thousand bottles.
Baffonero is the magnificent result of the first Italian-French joint venture in the wine sector signed between Castellare di Castellina (historic winery of the DCC group located in the Chianti Classico) and Domaines Barons de Rothschild, from which the Rocca di Frassinello winery was born. The Merlot clones were planted in a vineyard with perfect exposure and medium-clayey soil rich in marl skeleton, which benefits from a constant sea breeze which removes humidity and mitigates the climate both in winter and summer.
The name Baffonero is inspired by a Maremma legend that recalls wild boar hunt: hunters and dogs used to gather a few steps from the Rocca di Frassinello vineyards, ready to challenge the Lord of the woods. The hunt leader got a nickname: “Baffonero” because of his thick moustache. Today Baffonero tells not only these stories, but also the strength and elegance of a unique land such as the Tuscan Maremma (here the sketch for the study of the Baffonero label).
The 2019 harvest
2019 is a vintage that has surprised us. Despite the initial concerns, due to extreme climatic variability, the harvest turned out to be one of the best in recent years. In spring and at the beginning of summer, temperatures were lower than the seasonal average and the rains, during flowering, delayed the subsequent phenological phases, lengthening the vegetative cycle of the plant. In the months of July and August, but above all September, a very sunny climate followed with high temperatures, but not so high as to cause burns or dehydration, with significant temperature variations between day and night; This situation favored the perfect phenolic maturity of the grapes. The Merlot bunches, at the time of harvesting, were perfectly intact, healthy and juicy.
Tasting notes
The 2019 vintage reveals a bouquet characterized by a variety of black fruits, especially blackberry and blueberry, but also notes of vanilla, tobacco, chocolate and slight hints of coffee. In the mouth it is full and robust and shows off all its complexity, as well as a marked freshness that makes it long and pleasant and particularly persistent in the finish.
Baffonero 2019 has already convinced wine critics. Here are four scores obtained:
Tags: Baffonero, Domini Castellare di Castellina, Merlot, Rocca di Frassinello, Supertuscan, Tuscan Maremma