Creative balance in the 2020 harvest

At the Rocca delle Macìe vineyards heavy winter rains created a good supply of water for the vines, which was used in the very warm spring, when the vegetation began to show signs of life a few days earlier than the average recorded in previous years. However, late frosts are always lying in wait and this year was no exception for Tuscany and for Castellina in Chianti, although they were limited in intensity and did not affect the whole area. In early July veraison began. This is a beautiful period to visit the vineyards and enjoy the changing colour of the grapes, with their different shades of red and purple, as the transformation occurs inside the fruit: the beginning of the synthesis of the aromas and the substances that create the colour, bouquet and flavour of the wine.

This process yields greater results the greater the day-night temperature variation, as recorded during the season. Hot days followed by cooler nights activated the first signs, unaffected by the excessive heat in early August, which was mitigated by welcome rain at the beginning of September.

The grapes continued their development undisturbed and “now – as Sergio Zingarelli confirms – all the bunches of sangiovese are harvested or almost ready to be harvested, especially those in the vineyards dedicated to our leading wines, Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Sergio Zingarelli and Riserva di Fizzano, Sergioveto, Sant’Alfonso, which are constantly monitored. The harvest schedule is decided on the basis of the experience and sensitivity of Alfio Auzzi, the vineyard manager, and Luca Francioni, our winemaker, assisted by winemaker consultant Lorenzo Landi: the grapes will be tasted, analysed and weighed, and the palates of our experts will decide when the right moment has come for selection”.

Wine is the result of the interaction between nature and our increasingly developed skill in its interpretation: a sort of work of art, a product that is not in itself indispensable to human life, but is the fulfilment of pleasure that involves all the senses and produces emotions. This is why every moment in the vineyard, from the reawakening of the vines to the harvesting of their fruit, is “the moment” for that action, that brushstroke that adds to the completion of the final picture.

A palette of flavour and aroma which, for the sangiovese grape – the grape of choice at Rocca delle Macìe and of owner Sergio Zingarelli – contains the basic features found in all the wines it produces: red and black fruits, especially black cherries, damsons, and blackberries, with a floral element of violets and roses. Over time, with ageing, other sensations develop, like dried flowers, black pepper, and toasted coffee, further enhanced with balsamic aromas, orange zest, mint, vanilla, pipe tobacco and liquorice.

The weather trend enhances these features by directly affecting the grapes: this is why all winegrowers hope for an “excellent year”. And 2020 falls into that category for Rocca delle Macìe.

Once harvested and taken to the cellar, the grapes are entrusted to the care of Rocca’s cellar personnel. They have the important task of transforming the meticulously cared-for fruit into the wines selected from each vineyard, with a pre-defined character that we must help offer its best possible expression. And the work of art is ready: time will do the rest.