2021 Grattamacco Bolgheri Superiore Grattamacco
Grape
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 15% Sangiovese
Its Origins
Grattamacco, founded in 1977 by Piermario Meletti Cavallari, who has since sold the estate to Colle Massari, sits at the end of a long, winding drive in Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast (home of Sassicia). It's a land with a very unusual microclimate, a windy plain 100m above sea level, where the estate gets 300 sunny days a year and a steady breeze. The sun and the wind work together to help their organically grown grapes--Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, Petit Verdot and Vermentino--ripen without rot. Add this natural propitiousness to the skills of enologist Maurizio Castelli and winemaker Luca Maronne, and you can see how Grattamacco invariably produces wines that please both enthusiasts and connoisseurs. For example, this pair's tender loving care extends to the point of inventing Rube Goldberg-looking machinery that gently tips the sorted grapes into the maceration vats to keep their skins from bruising and thus releasing harsh tannins. Grattamacco holds unshakeable faith in the terroir of Toscano, particularly as it is expressed in the region’s most emblematic grape, Sangiovese, and the estate shows this commitment in their organic viticulture and traditional vinification practices that include using gravity, natural temperature and humidity in vinifying and refining their wines.
What The Critics Say
96/100 Parker's Wine Advocate, Monica Larner
"The superb Grattamacco 2021 Bolgheri Superiore Grattamacco (a certified organic wine) is balanced and intense, yet it remains faithful to a medium-plus texture that never feels weighed down. That's one of the best qualities of this classical vintage: you get the power of the fruit with contained concentration and extraction. The bouquet is alive with blackcurrants, cherry, spice and hints of campfire ember. This is one of the jewels of Bolgheri. The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 15% Sangiovese (with 60,000 bottles made). It ferments in conical oak vats with ambient yeasts and manual push-downs and ages in barrique for 18 months." Drink 2026-2048
18/20 Jancis Robinson
"The usual blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 15% Sangiovese. Mid to dark crimson. Very complete and with a little less obvious tannin than the 2016. Aged 18 months in small oak barrels. Already very approachable and well balanced with a chalky texture on the end. Really charming with a little light inkiness. Long, and fresher than 2016. (JR)" Drink 2024-2040
96/100 Decanter, James Button
"As in 2009 and 2016, Grattamacco was made using the ‘Piemontese method’ in 2021, according to chief winemaker, Luca Marrone. This entails topping up the tanks during an extended post-fermentation maceration with wine from another vinification, such as a different plot or even a different grape variety. ‘It's risky, you can have spoilage,’ he admits. But the benefit is that there is more perceived roundness and body to the wine. The result in 2021 is superb, with bramble fruit fragrance and a dense, spicy palate of black and blue berries, silky tannins and sous bois complexity. The wonderful juicy softness of the fruit is energised by minty-fresh acidity, a spicy kick and a sapid, almost ferrous finish." Drink 2025-2029
| Variety | Cabernet Merlot Blend |
|---|---|
| Region | Tuscany |
| Closure | Cork |
| Volume | 750ml |
| Alcohol | 14.50% |
| Maturity | 2025 - 2045 |
This Wine Goes Well With
Taste
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