Chianti Classico Tenuta di Sant'Alfonso

Although not classed as a Riserva, its immensely refined organoleptic qualities, generous body and extensive ageability, make this wine most suitable to match full-flavoured entrées such as roasts and game.

Acquired in the same year as Le Macìe (1973), Tenuta Sant’Alfonso is composed of 125 hectares (309 acres), of which 36.5 (90 acres) are given over to vineyards (mainly Sangiovese, Colorino, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon) and 12.5 (31 acres) to olive groves. Average altitude: 850 - 557 feet above sea level. The soil type is Miocene deposits with a clayey-loamy texture, slightly alkaline.

After completing the fermentation, the wine is transferred to 35 hectolitres French oak barrels, where it ages for about one year. A period of rest in the bottle follows in order to allow the wine to harmonise before being released.

Rocca Delle Macie Chianti Classico Tenuta Sant’Alfonso is one of the winery’s best-established wines and one of the two prestigious crus produced today with 100% Sangiovese grapes cultivated exclusively on the Sant’Alfonso estate. Based on the studies and experiments conducted in the vineyard, it emerged that the most clay-rich and least gravelly soils of this estate, combined with the use of specific clones of Sangiovese, caused the grapes to develop and mature with a higher concentration of polyphenols and aromatic substances. Chianti Classico Tenuta Sant’Alfonso is fermented using the most advanced techniques to preserve the grapes’ natural concentration.

Rocca delle Macìe was established in 1973 when Italo Zingarelli – producer of Ettore Scola’s “We All Loved Each Other So Much” and also of the wildly popular series of films featuring comedy duo Bud Spencer and Terence Hill (including “They Call Me Trinity” and “Trinity Is Still My Name”) – decided to realize his lifelong dream by acquiring the “Le Macìe” estate – extending across 93 hectares (230 acres) in all of which only two were under vine – in order to create a winery in the heart of the Chianti Classico zone.