The wines of Podere Grattamacco (founded in 1977) have long been considered among the absolute protagonists of wine production in Bolgheri area. The winery is owned by the brothers Maria Iris and Claudio Tipa who bought it in 2002 with the intention of creating, in Tuscany, a real “Domaine” (Collemassari) under whose name the best expressions of the wine of this region were brought together. Today, Podere Grattamacco covers about 80 hectares, 29 of which are vineyards and 4 olive groves, while the rest are covered by woods. In addition, the area immediately surrounding the winery is protected by another 1600 hectares of woods, which isolate the vineyards in a “bubble” from the unique microclimate, not reproducible from the rest of Bolgheri area. The vineyards, in which the absolute biological regime is practised, can be roughly divided into two micro-zones: to the east of the Bolgherese road, on the hills between the Bolgheri ditch and the Segalari ridge, are the historical vineyards, on sandstone soils, clay and calcareous-marly rock, and to the west those of younger age, on silt and red sands.
From a 10 hectares vineyard, at a 100 meters above sea level altitude, comes the Bolgheri Rosso Superiore doc Grattamacco, the company’s crown jewel; a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (65%), Merlot (20%) and Sangiovese (15%) born in 1982. Despite its relatively young age, this wine was one of the first to be born in the Bolgheri area, preceded only by Sassicaia (1968), and it fully embodies its spirit. After a careful manual harvest, with a first selection already in the plant, the grapes are sent to the cellar where they ferment spontaneously in conical wood vats, and make a long maceration on the skins with manual daily fulling. The wine is then aged in barriques for 18 months, then is bottled and rests for another year before marketing.
The 2016 vintage is characterized by an intense and brilliant ruby red color, with an olfactory range dominated by wild black fruit, creme de cassis, pot pourri, and vinyl, enriched by carob, garrigue, toasted hazelnut and bitter cocoa, with a slight echo of toasted coffee, Balkan Sobranie tobacco and graphite. The mouthfeel is soft, with a never excessive roundness, balanced by silky tannins, but rather incisive, and a good acid-iodine part, with a return from fruit and spice, to which are added slight hints of green pepper and the boisée component with which the retro-olfactory equipment characterizes the sip, up to its excellent length closure.
Rating: 95/100
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