Rocca delle Macìe is a young and dynamic winery which in a little over 30 years it has forged a reputation throughout the wine world as one of Chianti's most highly regarded estates.

It was back in 1973 that Italo Zingarelli at last realized his life-long dream of purchasing the estate "Le Macìe" --about 85 hectares of land of which just two planted with vines-- and transforming it into a winery at the very heart of the Chianti Classico zone.

In 1985, Sergio, Italo's youngest son, became personally responsible for the worldwide distribution network and in 1989, with his wife Daniela at his side, was appointed Company President.

As part of Sergio's long term business strategy and of his determination to achieve quality, he consolidates and developes the paternal company which becomes popular worldwide, gaining many prizes and recognitions for his wines.

The company estate now extends to more than 600 hectares with, in total, more than 200 used as vineyards and 80 as olive groves, subdivided across the company's six estates: Le Macìe, Sant'Alfonso, Fizzano e le Tavolelle in the Chianti Classico zone, in addition to the recently purchased Campomaccione and Casamaria in the Morellino di Scansano zone.

The development of Rocca delle Macìe as a commercial venture has been characterized from the outset by, on the one hand, a relationship of reciprocal respect with the terroir, and, on the other, by a consistent commitment towards improving product quality through innovation in the cellars.

The successes that Rocca delle Macìe has achieved as a winery are based, first and foremost, on the painstaking approach we take in the vineyards.

This quality-oriented approach dictates low yields per hectare, green harvest and leaf removal being performed during the summer months and a manual harvest directed by expert winegrowers.

Our team of winemakers and cellarpersons follow up the hard work done in the vineyards by adopting an equally meticulous attitude in the cellars, which have been expanded and modernized over the years and now feature state-of-the-art fermentation equipment to ensure precise control of the must, as well as modern maturation vessels to ensure optimum ageing.

Indeed, as part of the ongoing endeavor to manage production and interpret consumer requirements as effectively as possible, in 2002 Rocca delle Macìe commissioned the construction of a new cellar dedicated to the ageing of a special selection of red wines.

The cutting-edge maturation area, located on the Le Tavolelle estate, has the capacity to house almost one thousand barriques.

Following his purchase of Le Macìe in 1973, Italo Zingarelli decides to buy the nearby farm of Sant'Alfonso. Of its 125 hectares, 45 are currently under vine and 15 are used as olive groves, with the remainder composed of woodland, walnut orchards, meadows and arable land.

In this property Sangiovese grape plays the leading role; in fact localized soil composition rich in clay, with low skeletal content, when united with specific clones of Sangiovese, causes the grapes to develop and ripen with an increased concentration of polyphenols and aromatic substances.

For all these reasons, most of the Sangiovese cultivated in this property becomes one of the special Crus of the winery: the Chianti Classico Tenuta Sant'Alfonso.

In 1984, the Zingarelli family purchases Fizzano estate, which consisted of an 11th-century borgo surrounded by approximately 61 hectares of land, a small portion of which was already under vine.

The family recognised the long-term viticultural potential of large areas of the farm, and extended the cultivation area accordingly.

Nowadays, 35 hectares of the estate are used for the growing of highly specialized varieties, with 15 hectares given over to the cultivation of olives destined for the production of a prestigious extra-virgin olive oil made in the company's oil mill, which is situated within the medieval borgo.

The borgo itself was reborn as a sumptuous rural retreat, divided into 20 apartments that give those who holiday there an opportunity to get in touch with nature.

In 1998, in order to improve and diversify production, a new estate called Le Tavolelle was purchased by Rocca delle Macìe.

The new property, consisting in 22 hectares of land of which 16 cultivated with Sangiovese, is also the location of a new cellar for storage of prestigious red wines.

In 1998 the Zingarelli family, as part of its long-term business strategy, lands in Maremma driven by the desire to extend its viticultural interests to this area, which - like the Chianti Classico zone - is positively steeped in time-honored winemaking traditions.

Therefore, within the Morellino di Scansano DOC zone, the Zingarellis purchase the Campomaccione estate, 80 hectares of land for the cultivation of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot e Syrah varieties using modern planting patterns with up to 6,000 vines per hectare.

The dry, hilly terrain of this area works together with the warm weather and occasional droughts to favor an excellent maturation of the grapes, while the salty sea air plays a crucial role in the development of unique characteristics within the berries which are then transferred to the wine.

The first wine coming from this area, the Morellino di Scansano Campomaccione, takes its name from the property.

Subsequently, in 2003, Rocca delle Macìe consolidates its presence in the Scansano zone by acquiring the Fattoria Casamaria, a 67-hectare property including 15 hectares already under vine.

The grape variety cultivated here is Vermentino which has already given birth to a new white wine called Occhio a Vento.

This sun-kissed coastal area, perfect for the cultivation of high-quality vines, continues to produce highly encouraging results for companies such as Rocca delle Macìe that are focused on achieving consistent qualitative improvement from all the vineyards they own.

For an idea to really take off, one has to be prepared to do what it takes to turn it into a reality.

We have always elected to deal exclusively with the restaurant and specialist wine merchant sectors, in Italy and all over the world, offering them wines of ever-improving quality and reliability which reflect the continual advances being made in the organizational structure and technical excellence of our company.

It is our belief that a direct, open and honest relationship with our customers is the indispensable pre-requisite to embarking upon any sort of collaborative enterprise.

It is our conviction that business growth and development can only be achieved through the perpetual alignment of the company with the demands of the marketplace and through our determination to achieve the objectives that we, as a company, set for ourselves.