Val Delle Rose
Val delle Rose Poggio al Leone Morellino di Scansano Riserva
DOCG Morellino di Scansano
90% Sangiovese, 10% Other
14.5
Tasting Notes
Poggio al Leone is intense ruby red in color; a bouquet of ripe fruit typical of Sangiovese di Maremma. Well structured and full bodied.
Cultivation
Feldspathic quartz sandstone and largely siliceous soil, yield of 4 tonnes per hectare and a density of 5000 vines per hectare, spurred cordon pruning. Harvest occurs in October.
Vinification
Traditional red wine vinification on the skins, temperature controlled stainless steel fermentation at 26°C, fermentation and maceration lasts 15 days.
Aging
12 months in barriques and a minimum of 8 months in bottle.
Val Delle Rose boasts one of the most beautiful wineries in all of Tuscany and is impeccably and lovingly run by the historic Cecchi family. In 1996, Famiglia Cecchi purchased the Val delle Rose winery in the little village of Poggio la Mozza, which lies at the productive heart of Morellino di Scansano appellation.The Cecchi family has been a pioneer of the Maremma area, believing in the great potential of the wild area a few kilometers from the Medeterranean Sea. Val Delle Rose is now the biggest winery in the Morellino di Scansano appellation.
At the time of its acquisition, Val Delle Rose had 25 hectares of vines. The Cecchi intervention was comparable to a minor farming revolution, as the agricultural techniques used until then did not ensure the batch-to-batch consistency needed for the viability of a serious winery. A study of the property’s soil revealed the enormous potential of this terroir. The study was so promising that the Cecchi family decided to extend the land under vines to about the current 100 hectares.
The sandy soil, rich in stones, contributes minerality to the white wines, like Vermentino, and the soft tannin structure of the red wines, like Sangiovese.
The project of the Famiglia Cecchi in Val Delle Rose started with growing Sangiovese, to better understand and experiment with how the grape–the “chameleon varietal” of Tuscany–could express itself in the innovative Maremma area. Understanding the value of the land, the family also believed in the Vermentino grape, now one of the most grown white varietals in the Tuscan coast. As their most recent project, Val Delle Rose has developed and highlighted the great value of International grapes like Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon, creating distinctive wines from the area.