Roccafiore and the challenge of Grechetto di Todi

Tasting of some labels from the Umbrian Roccafiore winery which, looking for very little intervention in the vineyard and cellar, concentrates on the native Grechetto clone, a vine with intriguing capacity.

The Roccafiore winery, established in 1999, lies in Todi, because Umbria that uses a “Canticle White Wine Path” in tribute to Saint Francis. The saint had in reality traced the lines of his own spirituality amongst these hills.

At the start of the 90s Leonardo Baccarelli, an Umbrian business owner enthusiastic about art, nature and “appeal”, selected this location to establish his dream: a resort, a holistic health spa, a dining establishment and a cellar where he might produce red wines with an extremely sustainable occupation. Today, after over twenty years, the dream has actually come to life and the kids Luca and Ilaria Baccarelli continue the task. Luca (born 1984) looks after the cellar and marketing, while Ilaria (born 1987) handles the white wine resort and the holistic health spa.

Luca Baccarelli in the cellar

LITTLE OENOLOGICAL strategy The Roccafiore cellar is an area developed to deal with regard for the grapes and white wine, decreasing mechanical interventions to a minimum. Gravity and gravity systems are utilized in the wine making stage, water is recycled and red wines with a low sulfur dioxide material are studied.

” The vision of producing white wine without turning to extreme oenological methods was born when we established the brand-new idea for our cellar and after that ended up being the essential to our work– highlights Luca– For this reason the choice to concentrate on likewise on renewable resource, on the healing of tired pomace, which is utilized as fertilizer in the vineyard, on using light-weight bottles or the adoption of biofuels for farming automobiles”.

NATURAL BALANCE IN THE VINEYARD To finest reveal the 15 hectares of native vines (from Grechetto di Todi to Trebbiano Spoletino, from Sangiovese to Sagrantino), Luca Baccarelli together with his group select thick plantings, with 6,500 vines per hectare, preferring Guyot as a type of farming. To keep a high level of quality of the grapes, some agronomic practices are embraced with a concentrate on natural red wines and which originates from standard kinds, which have actually been upgraded in Roccafiore. We deal with grassing, mulching and green manure, including the reuse of natural elements with the goal of preserving a well balanced natural structure of the earth, without turning to chemical compounds.

the vineyards of Roccafiore

CONCENTRATE ON SUSTAINABILITY Roccafiore was amongst the very first white wine business in Italy to embrace the option of photovoltaics. A level of sensitivity that is likewise revealed in other options focused on appreciating the environment, such as using light-weight bottles, the adoption of biofuels for farming automobiles and the decrease of water usage through the collection of rainwater in an unique reserve business water system.

In 2016 the winery got the Green HeartQuality accreditation, the sustainability brand name of the Umbria Area.

RED WINE TOURIST, HIGH-END IN NATURE Ilaria Baccarelli looks after Roccafiore’s hospitality. A location where the stay ends up being a holistic experience for the white wine traveler identified by the most genuine relaxation and overall immersion in the plant. The estate is surrounded by 90 hectares of gardens, vineyards and olive groves, a home in the countryside where you can unwind and forget daily life.

The 13 spaces of the house neglect the vineyards and have a nation trendy design and each space has actually solely developed home furnishings. The spaces have the names of distinguished vehicles, among the enthusiasms of the Baccarelli household. The Anthea Day spa finishes the bundle: Roman sauna, steam course, Tepidarium, water massage, chromotherapy, white wine treatment are a few of the possible activities used. The center likewise uses yoga and meditation courses.

Fiorfiore is the dining establishment of the Roccafiore White Wine Resort & Day Spa. With its summer season balcony it ignores vineyards, olive groves and the middle ages horizon of Todi, using a menu with no kilometer items and from the production garden with spices and medical plants grown on website.

the wine chalet of the Roccafiore resort

the white wine chalet of the Roccafiore resort

THE BET ON GRECHETTO Specific attention is committed to Grechetto, specifically Grechetto di Todi. To offer it a brand-new analysis, Roccafiore selects the G5 clone, not really prevalent and present just in the location. Its ampelographic attributes are a little and sporadic lot, with a five-lobed leaf and a truncated cone shape.

Although Grechetto is a range that does not have fantastic scents, it is possible to acquire scents, however likewise structure and intricacy. The genuine obstacle was to let it age in big barrels and acquire a white wine that gets character in time. Fermented with natural yeasts and aged for 12 months in big Slavonian oak barrels, Fiorfiore is a white wine that uses its finest 3/4 years after the harvest.

With the assistance of the oenologist Alessandro Biancolin, for many years Baccarelli wished to attempt the improvement of Grechetto in terracotta amphorae.

amphorae and Slavonian oak barrels for the Grechetto of Todi

TASTING NOTES Fiorfiore Umbria Grechetto Igt 2021 Grapes: Grechetto di Todi 100% (clone G5) Vinification: soft pushing, spontaneous fermentation in steel Aging: 12 months in amphorae and big Slavonian oak barrels in contact with great lees, does not carry out malolactic. Rests a minimum of 6 months in the bottle

From a single vineyard planted in 1990, trained utilizing the Guyot system and resting on soils of white clay, calcareous marl and chalk, the Grechetto you do not anticipate. A deep straw yellow glass, fine, extreme and complicated on the nose with tips of flowers and wild herbs, aromatics, pineapple and citrus fruits, yellow apple; balsamic. In the mouth it is dry, covering, extremely mineral and rather fresh. Well balanced and rather relentless. Prepared, with still a couple of years ahead of him to reveal his finest. It complements fish very first and 2nd courses, in specific soups and baked croaker or sea bass, along with vegetable soups, soft cheeses and breast meats.

Prova d’Autore Umbria Rosso Igt 2020 Grapes: % Sagrantino, 30% Montepulciano, 40% large-berry Sangiovese Vinification: different vinification of the grapes with 22/24 day maceration on the skins, spontaneous fermentation in steel with malolactic fermentation. Aging: 24 months in big Slavonian oak barrels and 2nd passage French barriques. After mixing and bottling, it rests for a minimum of 6 months in the bottle

Cultivated utilizing the Guyot approach on the hills of Todi with soils of white clay and calcareous marl. To the eye it appears a constant ruby red with some small garnet reflections. The fragrance is extreme and rather complicated with notes of ripe red and black berry fruit and spices, especially vanilla. In the mouth it is great, unified and rather well balanced, still far from complete taste-olfactory maturity. It is a warm, dry white wine, rather tannic and fresh, robust and with excellent perseverance. It complements red meats, video game, fully grown cheeses.

Il Roccafiore Umbria Rosso Igt 2020 Grapes: 100% large-berry sangiovese Vinification: 10/12 day maceration on the skins, spontaneous fermentation in steel with malolactic fermentation. Aging: 24 months in big Slavonian oak barrels. After bottling it rests for a minimum of 6 months in the bottle

1999 Guyot-trained plants with east/south-east direct exposure, soils of white clay and calcareous marl from which a deep and constant ruby red glass obtains and with extreme and complicated scents of blackberry and wild strawberries, morello cherry and plum, spices, specifically nutmeg and tobacco. The sip is complete, covering, dry and soft with obvious tannin and excellent freshness and taste. It is a fine and unified white wine, well balanced, robust and all set for simple drinking. It complements red meats, video game, stews, fully grown cheeses, brief pasta with combined meat ragout.