Rocca di Frassinello Poggio alla Guardia Toscana 2022

When Lafite-Rothschild makes a move, the wine world watches. That’s exactly what happened in 2007 when Eric de Rothschild partnered with legendary Italian winemaker Paolo Panerai of Poggio Castellare in Chianti. Their mission? Create something completely extraordinary in Maremma, Tuscany.

Sure, they weren’t the first to see Maremma’s potential. Mondavi, Frescobaldi, and Jacopo Biondi Santi had already planted their flags. But when two titans like Rothschild and Panerai join forces, even seasoned Tuscan winemakers take notice. Now, 15+ years later, their project, Rocca di Frassinello, is doing something that seemed impossible: producing some of Tuscany’s greatest values that only producers with incredibly deep pockets would even dare attempt.

Here’s where it just gets silly though. When you see “Rothschild” on a label, you’d expect to need a second mortgage. Instead, their ‘Poggio Al Guardia’ is a stunning under-the-radar gem that absolutely sticks out like a sore thumb down here under $25/bottle.