Bibi Graetz TESTAMATTA 2016 Toscana《Terroir Collection - TI953B》

🏅James Suckling 98 pts

🏅Wine Advocate 96 pts

🏅Wine Spectator 92 pt

🏅Jancis Robinson 18/20 pts

2018 Testamatta

"Testa-Matta” in Italy is someone witha strong personality, a distinctive style and positive attitude and creativity.No other name could describe better Bibi Graetz flagship wine. Supertuscan madewith 100% Sangiovese from old vines, this wine is the result of the combinationof tradition and creativity, elevating the idea of Tuscan Sangiovese andbringing the word “Supertuscan” to the next level.

The Bibi Graetz winery was founded in 2000on the hill of Fiesole, overlooking Florence, where Bibi, who grew up in afamily of artists, felt completely in love with wine and made of it his life.

 

Bibi was fascinated by old vineyards; bytheir finesse, elegance and the purity of the furits they can produce. Today,the Bibi Graetz estate has assembled one of the largest collections of oldvineyards in Tuscany.

 

Love for old vines brings with it thepassion for native Tuscan varieties. Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino are thecore of our wines.

 

Old vines, high altitude, poor stony soilsand natural viticulture characterize our production philosophy aimed to portraythe terroir of each single vineyard.

 

"Testamatta" is the best word todescribe Bibi Graetz: a positive, creative and passionate person. Testamattawine expresses the purity, minerality and transparency of Sangiovese from oldvineyards on the top of the hills characterized by soils rich of stones.

 

Vineyards: Siena, Lamole, Vincigliata, Londa andMontefili vineyards

Variety: 100% Sangiovese

Vines: 35-50 years old vines

Soil: Medium mixture soil rich of galestro andclay

Training: Goblet and Guyot

Wine making method: Natural fermentation in open top barrels, 6-8 manual punch-down per day, 30 months of aging

🏅James Suckling 98 pts

 A very beautiful and thoughtful Testamatta with aromas of earth, terra cotta, black tea, and lavender. Full-bodied, very layered and extremely polished with superb, soft tannins. Racy and very long. Muscular and formed but very, very balanced. Gorgeous richness and depth. Shows balance and wonder.

🏅Wine Advocate 96 pts

The 2016 Testamatta represents a blend of fruit from old vines spread across the various vineyard holdings farmed by Bibi Graetz in both the Siena and Firenze provinces of Tuscany. These holdings include plots in Vincigliata (home base to Bibi Graetz and his family just outside of Florence), Lamole, Londa, Montefili and Siena. Many of the vines used here are 80 years old or more, and each site represents a cultural and enological patrimony that was specifically selected for its individual character or uniqueness. There is an unescapable metaphor in the many primary colors that blend or bleed into each other to form a single piece of art that is depicted on the front label of this handsome bottle. Testamatta reaches impeccable harmony in similar fashion. I tasted this wine on three separate occasions and was blown away each time. There is a seductively wild side to the wine that comes forth with chiseled intensity. Dark fruit, spice, tar, licorice and toasted spice make for a beautifully elegant bouquet. The mouthfeel remains mid-weight in approach, with polished tannins and a tightly knit texture that should relax and grow in volume as the wine evolves in the bottle.

🏅Wine Spectator 92 pt

A focused, linear style, this red features cherry, iron, earth and tobacco flavors, with a hint of wild scrub in the aroma, all matched to a firm, well-integrated structure. Tightens up on the finish, remaining long and detailed. 

🏅Jancis Robinson 18/20 pts

A beautiful nose, a purity of red fruits and tea leaf. The fruit is extremely well extracted – soft and sublimely fine tannins. This feels like a wine that is brimming with vivacity and life – red fruits that have such elegance and refinement.