Grattamacco, Bolgheri Rosso 2022

92 points Jeb Dunnuck
"A deep but youthful ruby color, the 2022 Bolgheri Rosso is beautiful on opening, with aromas of black raspberry, lavender, sweet herbs, and fresh leather. Pure and inviting, it’s flush with plush tannins, even acidity, and a supple texture with a graceful, mineral-tinged backbone. It is a fantastic Rosso and hard to resist now, although it will certainly cruise over the next 8-10 years."

91 points Falstaff
"Dense ruby core with brightening on the edges. Sweet fruit on the nose, of cassis and blackberries, plus bell pepper and subtle wood spice. Smooth on the palate, tight tannic structure, juicy, balanced and persistent."

Jancis Robinson
"The first Bolgheri Rosso produced in the territory, receiving the DOC recognition in 1994. The straightforward label, emphasising the word Bolgheri (rather than Grattamacco), was created to promote the name of the appellation, ‘seeking to encapsulate the typical expressions of an everyday wine from the area of origin’. The blend consists of all the grape varieties present: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and the trademark Sangiovese. ‘I consider it a second wine [of Grattamacco]’, says chief winemaker Luca Marrone. Fruit is from young vineyards, aged less than five or six years. Also, they sometimes pick the old vineyards two or three times and the first pick will go into this wine, as does their Cabernet Franc. Fermentation takes place in steel vats, where part of the wine undergoes ageing, while another portion continues for eight months in (mainly older) barriques. Marrone described 2022 as ‘one of most bizarre vintages of my life – way out there on any quadrant diagram. Very dry and quite hot in spring until the end of July. Then there was massive rain in August, but it saved the crop to be a fairly normal vintage in the end. The different soils had very different reactions to the weather. Vines grown on clay-sand soils needed time to balance the sweetness with the tannin whereas on clay-loamy soils they regained balance soon and yielded the best wines. Sandy soils caused too much stress.’
Luscious-looking purple. Heady. Very rich and opulent. Rather gorgeous for a young wine. Rich but not heavy. GV *good value* 17/20 points?

Vinous Reverie Notes
Grattamacco was founded in 1977 and was the second winery of the Bolgheri appellation, following Sassicaia. The estate has lead the region in environmentally responsible farming, and was the first to use an Alberello or head-pruned method in Bolgheri. The winery lies on a rise between Castagneto Carducci and Bolgheri, with a panoramic view of the Tuscan coast. The vineyards are located at about 330 ft. above sea level, in a wonderfully protected plot that spans over one of Bolgheri's only two hills. The winery is helmed today by Luca Marrone, chief winemaker. Luca is one of the more thoughtful and exciting winemakers, producing compelling wines with remarkable focus and transparency of place across each of the regions. Today, they have 32 hectares of vines, predominantly of Cabernet Sauvignon, along with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, and a small amount of Petit Verdot. They have a collection of some of the first open-tank barrels that Sassicaia used in their first vintage in 1968, which Grattamacco continues to use, and they are an important part of informing their wines today.