2016 Testamatta
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Tasting notes
Testamatta is 100% Sangiovese originating from five separate vineyards in the Chianti region of Tuscany. All the vines are over 50 years of age. The wine is often classified as a “Super Tuscan” despite being made from the indigenous Sangiovese. This is largely because the qualitative approach taken to make Testamatta and Colore has more in common with the approach most closely associated with the Super Tuscans. Bibi Graetz harvests each of these vineyards up to eight separate times – picking the bunches only when they are at their perfect ripening position.
Critic scores
Average Score
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
The 2016 Rosso Testamatta is dreamy, mixing depths of spiced black cherry with sage and lavender as nuances of sweet pipe tobacco come to the fore. It’s seamlessly silky in texture, with a slight peppery tinge that adds contrast. Tart wild berries mix with citrus and minerals to create a crunchy sensation on the palate. This tapers off with lovely length, still tannic yet not severe. This is a stunning Testamatta.
Just as with the 2015, this was an excellent growing season - and once again we see the chage in how Bibi chooses to handle these concentrated, ripe years. This is just singing with the finesse and generosity of Sangiovese. Tobacco, sweet red cherry, smoked tea, rosemary, raspberry puree, salinity, mouthwatering and so easy to drink even at six years old. Slow ripening, harvest from September 22 to Octoer 29. Fermented with natural yeasts, aged in oak casks and neutral barrels for 20 months.
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. (AC)
About the producer
Based just outside Florence, Bibi Graetz is something of a maverick in the Tuscan wine scene. Working with old vineyards of indigenous grapes around Chianti, he produces intense wines classified as IGT Toscana; not fitting neatly in either the Super Tuscan or Chianti camp.