#12 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2022

97pts Wine Spectator

Dense and smooth, featuring black cherry, blackberry, plum, iron, licorice and menthol aromas and flavors. Fresh and featuring a spine of tannins, this finishes on the compact side for now. Shows balance, so be patient. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese. Best from 2025.

97pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2019 Bolgheri Superiore Grattamacco (a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 15% Sangiovese) is a real beauty and shows very nicely today based on advancing vine age alone. Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah vines show great results after seven years, whereas Merlot and Sangiovese vines need a few more years before they start to show that extra degree of complexity, the winemaking team tells me. This is a complete and beautifully balanced wine that shows soft extraction and especially sweet tannins. It fermented in truncated conical oak vats and finished in barrique for 18 months.

96pts Decanter

Grattamacco is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 15% Sangiovese, which certainly contributes to the fresher style of this wine. The whole picture is complete only when understanding that the vineyards used for this blend are among the highest of the appellation. According to winemaker Luca Marrone, in 2019 the ripening of the grapes was slow and the harvests took place on 4 October. Grattamacco shines for its signature leafy, Mediterranean forest aromas, with assertive kiwi peel, restrained cassis, bell pepper and chocolate flavours. The attack is velvety, youthful and firm, less easy-going compared to Alberello but more tight-knit and extremely elegant - the Sangiovese grapes seem to emphasise the red freshness of the fruit. The length is amazing.

95pts James Suckling

Beautiful aromas of currants and blackberries follow through to a medium to full body with round, creamy tannins and a juicy finish. Lots of intensity and depth. Hints of fresh sage and bay leaf. From organically grown grapes. Wonderful to drink now, but even better in 2024.

Winemaker Notes

The olfactory impact is of considerable aromatic intensity: it expands with notes of small, fully ripe red fruits, accompanied by clear balsamic and Mediterranean hints. In progression, typical mineral notes develop. The gustatory impact is austere, of remarkable freshness and of large volume. It develops in a balanced fusion between the broad minerality and the fine and enveloping tannins. Everything is found in the long final persistence that foreshadows a long life ahead.

Goes well with game, as e.g. local preparations of wild boar, roast, braised and stewed red meats, and medium aged cheese.

Blend: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 15% Sangiovese