Finely textured, with a nuanced perfume that fills the glass and takes you to the intense underbrush of Tuscany. Succulent and yet savory, this has a lilting freshness that is overlaid with ripe berry fruits, sage and white pepper spice, and clear minerality in terms of its scraping texture that makes your mouth water on the finish. Feels light and sculpted and yet has an intensity that skewers you to the spot. This is a great wine, with scope and imagination that doesn't want to let you go. Genuinely stands out among the wines of this tasting, and these are a fine array of wines. As with Colore, Bibi Graetz selects only old vines, the youngest 50 years old from five different vineyard sites across Tuscany, all farmed organically. Fermentations in open 225l barrels with natural yeasts and manual punch downs. Drinking Window 2024 - 2045
Very subtle aromas of cherries, bark, black truffles and flowers. Hints of crushed stones. It’s full-bodied, yet very tight and solid with a very tight, minerally structure. Very long and intense. Racy and bright at the end. Powerful, orange-peel and citrus-fruit undertones. Salty and minerally. This needs time to develop in the bottle. Extremely structured. A wine not to touch until after 2023.
Over the years, we’ve been lucky to sell a bit of Testamatta, but magnums are a first, especially at this fine price. I’m guessing most of you savvy oenophiles need no introduction to Bibi’s wines, but there's a huge raft of scores and info below if you need a refresher! PERFECTION in magnums...we’re just stunned!
100% sangiovese, of course, as always, 50+ year old vines, made at his medieval castle, Castello di Vincigliata overlooking Florence. Bibi is an icon, self-taught and one of the early “cult” winemakers in Tuscany. He has a reputation of being Italy’s most talented and interesting winemakers. The labels are all personally drawn by Bibi Graetz, with the help from his daughter who both come from a long line of talented visual artists. Bibi is able to combine both of his passions into an amazing masterpiece. The wine in this vintage is five stars with wine publications predicting that this vintage will fall between the lavish 2015s and extravagant 2016s. Don't miss
PAIRING IDEAS: Try something more traditionally Florentine. Did you know they do crepes in Tuscany? Yup – check this out – crespelle alla Fiorentina. Hard to go wrong with ricotta and bechamel, are we right? Here’s a recipe.
MUSIC SUGGESTIONS: Checked out the new Eddie Vedder album yet? "Earthling" is growing on us, check it out. The opening track "Invincible" is a great vibe for some world-class sangiovese!
About the Producer
"Testa-Matta" in Italy is someone with a strong personality, a distinctive style and positive attitude and creativity. No other name could describe better Bibi Graetz flagship wine. A Super Tuscan made with 100% Sangiovese from old vines, this wine is the result of the combination of tradition and creativity, elevating the idea of Tuscan Sangiovese and bringing the word "Supertuscan" to the next level. From a medieval castle, Castello di Vincigliata, acquired by his parents over 60 years ago, winemaker Bibi Graetz crafts his wines on a hillside overlooking the great city of Florence. Beginning initially with only a small, 5-acre vineyard on this hillside in Fiesole, in little under two decades, Bibi has become one of Italy's most ingenious winemakers adding "cult winemaker" in addition to "talented abstract artist" to his dossier.
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