Why it matters
The producer
Val delle Rose is the Maremma coastal estate of Famiglia Cecchi, a Tuscan wine group with roots going back to 1893. Famiglia Cecchi began in Chianti, building steadily through the twentieth century into a multi-estate operation spread across Tuscany and Umbria. Val delle Rose is the coastal arm of that portfolio, planted in the Morellino di Scansano appellation in the southern Maremma, and at roughly 100 hectares under vine it is the largest single producer in the appellation.
Morellino di Scansano is the DOC appellation for Sangiovese grown in the coastal hills behind Grosseto, where the Maremma's maritime warmth and sandy soils produce a style of Sangiovese that is rounder, more immediately fruited, and less tannic than the Chianti heartland. Val delle Rose farms that coastal Sangiovese across three red labels of ascending weight, plus a Vermentino white that suits the same seaside warmth.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
The Maremma was long considered rough, marshy, and outside Tuscany's fine wine geography. Systematic drainage in the twentieth century opened the coastal strip to serious viticulture, and the Morellino di Scansano DOC, awarded in 1978, formalized the appellation around Sangiovese grown in the Scansano hills between Grosseto and the Argentario coast.
The maritime climate matters directly to the wine. Sea breezes moderate summer heat, harvest arrives earlier than in inland Tuscany, and Sangiovese ripens with softer tannin and more approachable fruit than it does on the heavier clay soils of Chianti Classico. The appellation requires a minimum of 85 percent Sangiovese in the blend.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The estate farms approximately 100 hectares on feldspathic quartz sandstone soils, certified organic since 2021. Organic viticulture removes synthetic herbicides, pesticides, and fertilisers from the vineyard cycle, which on sandy, siliceous soils means the vines draw on a cleaner mineral substrate and the fruit carries less chemical residue through fermentation. Soil studies informed the farming approach before certification.
Cellar practice details are not publicly documented beyond the sensory character of the finished wines. The tasting profiles suggest conventional red winemaking that allows Sangiovese's coastal fruit to read cleanly without heavy extraction or extended oak: the entry-level Rosamante is bright and fresh, the mid-tier Poggio al Leone adds density, and the top-level Aurelio shows spice and velvety tannin development.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range divides into three reds under the Morellino di Scansano appellation and one Vermentino white.
Rosamante Morellino di Scansano is the entry label. Bright ruby-red with purple accents, it opens on intense morello cherry with a fresh, fruit-forward palate. Light in body relative to the Chianti heartland, lively in acidity, and built for early drinking without the density that needs years of cellaring.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Rosamante Morellino di Scansano is the right first bottle. It is pure Maremma Sangiovese in its most direct form: bright ruby-red, morello cherry on the nose, fresh acidity, soft tannin, a palate with fresh acidity and soft tannin. The coastal sandy soils are legible in the wine's lightness and fruit clarity. It is not a complex bottle and does not try to be. It is an honest first expression of what Sangiovese does on the Maremma coast, and a clear illustration of why the Morellino di Scansano appellation exists as a distinct category from Chianti. Buy it for a weeknight table and it will deliver exactly what it promises.