MEGA DEAL - Giulio Straccali Toscana 2021 - Tuscany, Italy

Color: Intense and ruby red, showcasing the wine's vibrant character.
Aroma: Intense and complex, with ripe red fruit aromas that create an inviting bouquet.
Palate: Medium-bodied with good structure, offering pleasant freshness and a smooth finish that lingers nicely.

Since 1925 the Straccali wine estate in Tuscany, founded by its namesake Giulio Straccali, has been in the vanguard of progressive Chianti wine producers. An expert enologist, entrepreneur, farmer and wine producer, Giulio Straccali was above all a man of vision. Through the wines of Tuscany, he sought to communicate to the rest of the world the scents, colors and flavors of his beloved homeland. Convinced of the need to protect and nurture the reputation and quality of Chianti wines, Straccali consistently showed a pioneering spirit. He was instrumental in the founding of the Black Rooster Consortium and from 1942 until his death in 1969, he served as Vice President. In 1978 Italo Zingarelli, founder of the Rocca delle Macie estate in Castellina in Chianti, as part of his long-term business strategy and sharing the same dream set out by Giulio Straccali many decades earlier, purchased the company from the Straccali family.

Rocca delle Macìe was established in 1973, when film producer Italo Zingarelli – of Ettore Scola’s “We All Loved Each Other So Much” fame, and also 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.

The company estate now extends to more than 500 hectares (1250 acres) with, in total, more than 200 (500 acres) used as vineyards and 22 (54 acres) as olive groves, subdivided across the company’s six estates: Le Macìe, Sant’Alfonso, Fizzano e le Tavolelle in the Chianti Classico Area, in addition to the Campomaccione and Casa Maria estates in the Morellino di Scansano Area (Maremma).

The Chianti region in Italy's Tuscany wine growing region is split between Chianti and Chianti Classico. Accordingly, two separate DOCG designations apply to wines from the Chianti region: the Chianti Classico DOCG for the heartland of Chianti, and Chianti DOCG for all other Chianti regions. (In 1984, the Chianti region was promoted from DOC to DOCG - Italy’s highest classification - and in 1996, Chianti Classico - the historic heartland of the region - DOCG was created, which gave autonomy to that region. In the last 20 years, a consortium of Chianti Classico producers have researched new Sangiovese clones, replanted vineyards, updated cellar practices and generally made Chianti Classico DOCG a world-class appellation. Chianti Classico must contain a minimum of 75% Sangiovese. In the 2014 edition of its annual compendium of wine ratings, Gambero Rosso noted that Chianti Classico DOCG wines were noteworthy for their “significant return to a more defined style, true to tradition.” The typical Chianti Classico wine is a ruby-red, Sangiovese-based wine with aromas of violets and cherries and a hint of earthy spice.

Cabernet – Merlot – Sangiovese is the composition of many of the so-called "Super Tuscan" wines of central Italy. The blend can be made to any number of variations, but the combination typically draws on the power and structure of Cabernet Sauvignon, the sweet, juicy fruit flavors of Merlot and the rustic, sour-cherry tang of Sangiovese. Sangiovese is the defining grape in the blend and gives the wine a distinctively Italian accent.