Italy · Chianti Hills

Rocca delle Macìe

Large Chianti Classico estate founded in 1973 by film producer Italo Zingarelli at a restored medieval hamlet near Castellina. Six Tuscan estates, more than 200 hectares of vines, Sangiovese-led wines from entry Chianti Classico to top-end Super Tuscan.

The producer

Rocca delle Macìe began as a film producer's retirement project and became one of the larger serious Chianti Classico estates in southern Tuscany. Italo Zingarelli, who directed spaghetti Westerns in the early 1970s, bought an abandoned medieval hamlet called Le Macìe near Castellina in Chianti in 1973 and converted it into a working wine estate. He purchased a second property, Tenuta Sant'Alfonso, the same year. The estate now covers 500 hectares of Tuscan land, more than 200 of them planted to vines, spread across six properties: four in Chianti Classico and two in Maremma.

Sergio Zingarelli, Italo's youngest son, leads the business today. His quality program introduced single-vineyard Chianti Classicos, reduced production volumes, and moved the house style toward a more composed expression of Sangiovese. The entry Chianti Classico blends 95 percent Sangiovese with 5 percent Merlot, macerated for 12 to 14 days and aged 6 to 10 months in Slavonian and French oak. The Sergioveto Super Tuscan, carrying the Famiglia Zingarelli label, sits at the head of a range that runs from Maremma DOC coastal wines up through Chianti Classico Riserva to this top-tier cellar wine.

Known for

Chianti Classico DOCG and Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG

Notable facts

The story

The Enologist He Ignored

When Italo Zingarelli bought Tenuta Sant'Alfonso in 1973, the same year he acquired Le Macìe, he called in an enologist to assess the new land. The enologist looked it over and told him not to plant it. Italo showed him the door. He planted Sangiovese across the estate anyway, and the vineyard went into production. More than fifty years later, Sant'Alfonso is still one of the estate's core Chianti Classico properties, centered on the same grape the enologist had advised against.

From the atlas

Rocca delle Macìe

At A Glance

The Producer

Rocca delle Macìe began as a film producer's retirement project and became one of the larger serious Chianti Classico estates in southern Tuscany. Italo Zingarelli, who made his name directing spaghetti Westerns in the early 1970s, bought an abandoned medieval hamlet called Le Macìe near Castellina in Chianti in 1973 and converted it into a working wine estate. He purchased a second property, Tenuta Sant'Alfonso, in the same year.

The estate now covers 500 hectares of Tuscan land, more than 200 of them planted to vines, spread across six properties. Sergio Zingarelli, Italo's youngest son, leads the business. His son Andrea works in the cellar and vineyards, and his daughter Giulia runs hospitality. Three generations are active on the estate simultaneously.

Sergioveto, the top-tier Famiglia Zingarelli Super Tuscan, sits at the head of a range that runs from Maremma DOC wines on the coast to Chianti Classico Riserva in the hills above Castellina.

Place

Castellina in Chianti is one of the four original Chianti Classico communes, sitting near the southern boundary of the zone in the hills between Florence and Siena. Chianti Classico DOCG is a protected designation covering this central Tuscan territory: the appellation law requires Sangiovese to make up at least 80 percent of any wine that carries the black cockerel label, and wines labelled Riserva must spend at least 24 months in wood and bottle before release.

The altitude at Castellina, typically between 300 and 600 metres above sea level, slows ripening and preserves acidity in Sangiovese. Cooler nights during late summer keep freshness in the fruit and contribute to the relatively firm acid line that characterises well-made Chianti Classico from this part of the zone. Le Macìe sits near the southern edge of these hills, where the terrain opens slightly toward the coastal influence and the growing season runs a few days warmer than in the more northerly communes.

The Maremma properties at Tenuta Campomaccione and Tenuta Casa Maria operate under the Maremma DOC, a broader coastal Tuscan designation that allows international varieties alongside Sangiovese and runs to red, white, and rosé styles.

Soil And Site

Chianti Classico vineyards above Castellina are largely galestro and alberese soils: galestro is a crumbly, friable schist that drains quickly and keeps vines under moderate stress through summer, while alberese is a harder, clay-limestone compound that retains more moisture and gives Sangiovese fuller body and darker fruit. The mix varies across the Le Macìe and Sant'Alfonso parcels. Both soil types produce wines that hold firm acidity and medium tannin, which is part of why Sangiovese performs well here without over-extracting.

The Maremma estates operate on coastal plain and low hillside soils, heavier and richer than Chianti Classico, which accounts for the fuller-bodied, more immediately open style of the wines produced there.

Story

Italo Zingarelli spent time looking at properties across Piedmont and Tuscany before settling on Le Macìe. The hamlet had been abandoned and was in disrepair when he found it. His decision to buy it was part of a deliberate plan, not an impulsive land purchase: two successful films had given him the means, and winemaking was the ambition he wanted to pursue next.

The business grew steadily under Italo. Sergio joined in the 1980s and took the estate through a significant quality-focused transition. He introduced single-vineyard Chianti Classicos, reduced production volumes, modernized the cellars with contemporary equipment and both Slavonian and French oak barrels, and moved the house style toward a more composed, less extracted expression of Sangiovese. The Sergioveto Super Tuscan, carrying the Famiglia Zingarelli name, emerged as the top-tier statement of that direction.

Geographic expansion ran alongside the quality push. The Zingarellis added Maremma properties, Tenuta Campomaccione and Tenuta Casa Maria, extending the range beyond Chianti Classico into coastal Tuscany.

Vineyards And Cellar

Rocca delle Macìe farms with organic fertilizers, takes active measures against soil erosion, and has introduced bees across the estates to support biodiversity. The estate holds Italy's VIVA sustainability certification for viticulture, an accreditation that covers air, water, vineyard, and territory criteria.

In the cellar, the entry Chianti Classico undergoes 12 to 14 days of skin maceration, which extracts enough tannin and colour for the style without over-drying the fruit. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation follow, then 6 to 10 months in Slavonian or French oak barrels before further bottle refinement. The relatively short wood contact keeps the oak from dominating and lets Sangiovese's cherry and dried herb character stay forward.

The Riserva extends the wood ageing, giving the wine more time to integrate tannin and develop deeper fruit concentration. Sergioveto receives the longest élevage in the cellar and is built for development over several years in the bottle.

Wines

Sangiovese runs through every tier. The Chianti Classico DOCG is 95 percent Sangiovese and 5 percent Merlot, vinified with short maceration and medium oak contact. It delivers red cherry, dried herb, and moderate acidity with soft, approachable tannin. It is designed for early drinking without being thin.

The Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG is still Sangiovese-led but carries more structured tannin and deeper fruit from extended wood ageing. Where the Classico is forward and immediate, the Riserva asks for a year or two of patience and rewards it with more layered, darker fruit and a longer finish.

Sergioveto, the flagship Super Tuscan under the Famiglia Zingarelli label, is vinified and aged separately from the Chianti Classico range. It is built for the cellar: the wine has notable ageing potential and a fuller, more serious palate profile than anything in the Classico tier. It is the wine that most directly reflects Sergio's quality-focused ambitions for the estate.

The Maremma DOC range covers red, white, and rosé styles made from coastal Tuscan grapes.

In The Glass

The Chianti Classico DOCG opens with red cherry, a dried cherry skin note, and a faint herb lift from Sangiovese grown at altitude above Castellina. In the mouth, medium acidity gives it cut without sharpness, and the tannin is soft enough that it does not grip but firm enough to frame the fruit. The Merlot component rounds the finish and keeps the wine from the angular dryness that pure Sangiovese can carry at this level. The finish is short to medium, clean, and dry.

The Riserva carries darker fruit: dried plum alongside cherry, with more evident wood spice from the extended oak contact. The tannin is firmer and takes longer to settle. Acidity is still the spine of the wine, but the fruit around it is denser and the finish extends noticeably further than the Classico.

Sergioveto runs longer, richer, and more concentrated, with deep red and dark fruit, integrated oak, and a palate that builds through the mid-mouth and holds on the finish. It is warmer and more generous than either Chianti Classico tier.

A Bottle To Understand It

The Rocca delle Macìe Chianti Classico DOCG is the right first bottle. It is 95 percent Sangiovese grown on galestro and alberese soils above Castellina, blended with 5 percent Merlot, macerated for 12 to 14 days, and aged 6 to 10 months in Slavonian and French oak. It is an everyday Chianti Classico with honest fruit, a clean acid line, and enough tannin to sit comfortably with food. Red cherry comes first, followed by dried herb and a faintly dusty finish. No richness, no extraction, no oak dominance. It shows what the appellation does at a commercially serious scale and what Sergio's shift toward a composed style looks like in practice.

Anecdote

When Italo Zingarelli bought Tenuta Sant'Alfonso in 1973, the same year he acquired Le Macìe, he called in an enologist to assess the new land. The enologist looked it over and told him not to plant it. Italo showed him the door. He planted Sangiovese across the estate anyway, and the vineyard went into production. More than fifty years later, Sant'Alfonso is still one of the estate's core Chianti Classico properties, centered on the same grape the enologist had advised against.

Final Word

Rocca delle Macìe is a large, commercially scaled Chianti Classico producer that has spent the last three decades tightening what it makes rather than simply growing how much. Italo Zingarelli's abandoned hamlet now anchors six estates and more than 200 hectares of Tuscan vines. Sergio's quality turn produced single-vineyard wines, reduced volumes, and a house style that favors Sangiovese's natural acidity and herb character over heavy extraction. The entry Chianti Classico is the practical bottle: honest, food-ready, and representative of what the zone does at scale.

Sources

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