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Testamatta 2022 150cl

IGT | Toscana | Tuscany | Italy
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Critics scores
98 James Suckling
95 Robert Parker
Made with fruit from all north-facing vineyard sites (mostly in Olmo with a little bit from Lamole), the Bibi Graetz 2022 Testamatta is engineered to showcase the power of Sangiovese. Indeed, many parcels were recently removed from the blend in order to focus on fruit concentration and elegance. This was a hot growing season, but Bibi says that 2021 was also very warm (with more violent heat spikes during the summer). He lost a small percentage (about 7%) of fruit in 2022 and claims to have had an abundance of fruit in the challenging 2023 vintage. This wine is packed with dense berry fruit, blueberry, spice and soft earth. Bright acidic freshness adds backbone to Sangiovese.
Producer
Bibi Graetz
Firstly, an artist and graduate of the Academia dell’Arte in Florence, Bibi Graetz started making wine in the late 1990s and has since become one of the Tuscany’s most inspired winemakers. Born and raised in Italy and without any formal training, Graetz produces wine at his family home in Fiesole, a castle called Castello di Vincigliata. He decided early on to focus on the production of native Tuscan varieties, mostly Sangiovese, but also Colorino and Canaiolo and a tiny bit of Malvasia Nera and Moscato Nero. The fruit is sourced from old-age vines (ranging from 30 to 60-years-old) around the Chianti Classico area, including Maremma, the island of Giglio and Montalcino. Vinification is carried out in open fermenters and the resulting wines are inky-black red in color exposing a spectacular range of intensity and ingenuity. His flagship wine, Testamatta, which roughly translates to “Hot Head”, is made entirely from old-vine Sangiovese and is a powerful red with notes of cherry and tobacco. Another fascinating feature of his wines are that all of their labels are designed by Graetz himself, ultimately inspired by the Tuscan sun. From artist to cult winemaker, Graetz’s wines get better and better with every vintage, they are certainly top collectible Tuscan wines.