2019 Bibi Graetz Testamatta
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Tasting notes
Remarkable pale-garnet colour. Delicate black-cherry aroma following on to a more leathery and slaty palate with ample complexity and persistence. That mineral element is really charming – it reminds me of the granitic touch of northern Rhône, and there is similarly bright acidity too. (RH)
Critic scores
James Suckling
Tom Parker MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
The 20 year anniversary vintage, bright cherry red in colour; medium intensity visually and yet full intensity on the palate. Sweet raspberry and red cherry fruit, edges of smoked caramel and butterscotch, fine boned tannins, elegant and juicy and moreish. A balanced vintage, with cooler weather leading up to harvest that meant slow ripness and all these bursting out of the glass floral and fruit aromatics, with focus and subtle power. Comes at you in waves. Harvest from September 21 to October 8. Fermented with natural yeasts, aged in oak casks and neutral barrels for 20 months. Last tasted July 2021.
100% Sangiovese. This vintage marks the twentieth for Bibi Graetz. Very polished on the nose, freshly pressed, ripe cherry that brings an almondy edge. The palate is medium weight and silky, bringing more of the pressed-fruit tones. There is a real suggestion of ripe red-fruit skins here, the refined tannic structure adding to this perception. Just a little too much heat on the back end. (TP)
Very attractive combination of dried fruit and spices with black cherries and plums. Aromas of flowers and sandalwood, too. Full-bodied and very refined, yet intense, with plush, velvety tannins that are wonderfully integrated and intertwined with the fruit. Ripe center palate. Tight at the end, suggesting the need for some serious bottle age. Very structured. Try after 2025.
About the producer
Based just outside Florence, Bibi Graetz is something of a maverick in the Tuscan wine scene. Working with old vineyards of indigenous grapes around Chianti, he produces intense wines classified as IGT Toscana; not fitting neatly in either the Super Tuscan or Chianti camp.