Coravin pour at a random wine bar in Tokyo station.
Took 30 minutes of aggressive swirling to get anything going.
On the nose red black fruits, leather, tobacco, licorice, baking spices, hint of balsamic notes. On the palate the same notes. Very long finish, medium + acidity, medium + tannins. Should try again in 8-10 years at the very least.
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Interesting aromas of pencil shavings (heavy on the lead), damp earth, new oak, stoney/metallic minerals and black fruits. Full bodied, this is rich and very dense with a thick wall of high quality tannin. Beautifully delineated, this is classy and elegant with restrained and focused power. Excellent! This is a baby in need of several years in the cellar. Such purity of fruit. Drink 2029-2039+ 96+
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Enjoyed at a restaurant in Lucca, Italy. A little young, but was great when popped and poured and allowed to breathe!. A really nice choice when trying to be cost consciousness about super mdddaqnw . Was wonderful!
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One off ($89.99) from Costco several months ago. On the nose and palate, mild to moderate notes of black currants, blackberries, plums and to a lesser extent, black cherries, earthy herbality, cedar, and lighter notes of anise, tobacco and forest floor. Impenetrably purple black, medium to full bodied, medium legs. Racy acidity, potent but not inhospitable tannins, no heat. Good+ complexity, VG+ persistence and intensity. It had been a NY resolution of sfwl to try to drink more young cabs and BDX blends (I mean, for me at this point, 2013 is a young wine), but as we approach the end of this year, I only seem to have incrementally tried to do so, and in the case of this particular bottling, have done so because, after paying what had seemed to be a surprisingly high price for this—until I comparison shopped and noticed everywhere else was even worse—I stumbled onto 3 improperly priced bottles ($50@!), and I was curious, if skeptical, to try this in light of TNs. My results were mixed, incrementally better than expected, if a bit less than could have been hoped. This is pretty shy and primary off the pour, with the fruit mostly hiding behind the tannins and acidity, even if the end product isn’t displeasing. It took a full 3.5 hours on night #1 for this to really come out, and even then, this felt a lot closer to the Rauzan Segla than the Ovid of the past week (or even a Guado or an Ornellaia for that matter). This continued to deepen and soften on night #2 so that, like the Rauzan, the last glass was solidly best, approaching if not at a 95. Still, I have no doubt that this cuvees bottling’s best days are still to come, probably 5+ years out, and I’d encourage those holding, unless you have multiple bottles, to put these somewhere cool and dark with mondo trazadone and let them settle into a good sleep. Much more of a food wine at this point—as it may or may not be in the future—this was quite great with spaghetti and meatballs, not so much with sushi (before you nominate me for the year’s dumbest pairing, know that I had a half bottle of this going into the sushi, which hadn’t been planned, and an early flight this (11/17) morning, and I had no intention of burning the remainder, let alone uncorking a new bottle of white). The scores for this wine seem to be taking potential into account more than where it is now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if my score rises a couple of points in the years to come. 93-94++
Rich wine with layers of structure and complexity. Probably needs at least another year or two before it should be opened. Great depth of flavour with intense and long fruit flavours. The tannins have a drying effect but are integrated and the structure produces a very balanced wine. The wine has style and strength
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Concentrated and full-bodied, this still has some desired freshness. Long finish and ripe, sweet tannins. Blackberries, plums, cherries, teak, anise and oolong tea. Very attractive now with all the stuffing and backbone to age very well. Mostly Cabernet, with Merlot and Sangiovese. Drink now - 2038.
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Deep dark reddish garnet in color. Full, forward & attractive nose of dark fruit aromas of cherries, black currants, mulberries with overtones of floral notes & dusty/earthy notes, tobacco, spices, herbs, cocoa & a hint of cedar. Full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, rich, ripe dark fruit flavors of cherries, blackberries and boysenberries, with spices, herbs, minerals, cocoa, some oak/vanilla. Lingering finish. Drinks quite well with decanting and extended airing (+90 minutes) but needs much more time to develop fully & completely at which time it may merit a higher score (94+).
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Grattamacco's flagship offering, this Bolgheri Superiore is a blend of 65% Cab Sauv, 25% Merlot, 15% Sangiovese.
Only 30,000 bottles produced annually, there is a distinct blackberry and cassis nose. Ripe plums and licorice on the palate, some spice and peppers and the development of what will be a medium to long luscious finish.
Definitely a 4 star wine (Vivino ratings) but will require at least another 5-8 years for the depth and complexity to expose itself, I can't wait to try that 2016 in my cellar later this decade!
Grattamacco was founded in 1977, one of the region's pioneers. Along with Sassicaia, Grattamacco was one of the first to start producing wines in this region.
Of the 80ha estate, only 29ha are dedicated to vines! The 10ha of vineyards dedicated to making this flagship Grattamacco are located on steep slopes 100 metres above sea level.
Visit to the estate, thanks to Michela for the incredible welcome. Organised and arranged by our friends at Milawa and Collemassari. 2 Nov 2022 Bolgheri, Tuscany, Italy
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Second visit on our wine trip to Bolgheri was the Grattamacco winery, where Michela gave us a tour and tasting. Vermentino, L'Alberello and the Bolgheri superiore. Especially for us and to taste the difference with the young wines, she also opened a bottle of the 2001 Bolgheri superiore. Great experience at a great winery. Highly recommended visit.
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5/3/2024 - lim.calvinb Likes this wine: 93 Points
Coravin pour at a random wine bar in Tokyo station.
Took 30 minutes of aggressive swirling to get anything going.
On the nose red black fruits, leather, tobacco, licorice, baking spices, hint of balsamic notes. On the palate the same notes. Very long finish, medium + acidity, medium + tannins. Should try again in 8-10 years at the very least.
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3/29/2024 - WineGuyX Likes this wine: 96 Points
Interesting aromas of pencil shavings (heavy on the lead), damp earth, new oak, stoney/metallic minerals and black fruits. Full bodied, this is rich and very dense with a thick wall of high quality tannin. Beautifully delineated, this is classy and elegant with restrained and focused power. Excellent! This is a baby in need of several years in the cellar. Such purity of fruit. Drink 2029-2039+ 96+
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2/12/2024 - Rixley Likes this wine: 92 Points
Enjoyed at a restaurant in Lucca, Italy.
A little young, but was great when popped and poured and allowed to breathe!.
A really nice choice when trying to be cost consciousness about super mdddaqnw . Was wonderful!
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11/16/2023 - sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 94 Points
One off ($89.99) from Costco several months ago. On the nose and palate, mild to moderate notes of black currants, blackberries, plums and to a lesser extent, black cherries, earthy herbality, cedar, and lighter notes of anise, tobacco and forest floor. Impenetrably purple black, medium to full bodied, medium legs. Racy acidity, potent but not inhospitable tannins, no heat. Good+ complexity, VG+ persistence and intensity. It had been a NY resolution of sfwl to try to drink more young cabs and BDX blends (I mean, for me at this point, 2013 is a young wine), but as we approach the end of this year, I only seem to have incrementally tried to do so, and in the case of this particular bottling, have done so because, after paying what had seemed to be a surprisingly high price for this—until I comparison shopped and noticed everywhere else was even worse—I stumbled onto 3 improperly priced bottles ($50@!), and I was curious, if skeptical, to try this in light of TNs. My results were mixed, incrementally better than expected, if a bit less than could have been hoped. This is pretty shy and primary off the pour, with the fruit mostly hiding behind the tannins and acidity, even if the end product isn’t displeasing. It took a full 3.5 hours on night #1 for this to really come out, and even then, this felt a lot closer to the Rauzan Segla than the Ovid of the past week (or even a Guado or an Ornellaia for that matter). This continued to deepen and soften on night #2 so that, like the Rauzan, the last glass was solidly best, approaching if not at a 95. Still, I have no doubt that this cuvees bottling’s best days are still to come, probably 5+ years out, and I’d encourage those holding, unless you have multiple bottles, to put these somewhere cool and dark with mondo trazadone and let them settle into a good sleep. Much more of a food wine at this point—as it may or may not be in the future—this was quite great with spaghetti and meatballs, not so much with sushi (before you nominate me for the year’s dumbest pairing, know that I had a half bottle of this going into the sushi, which hadn’t been planned, and an early flight this (11/17) morning, and I had no intention of burning the remainder, let alone uncorking a new bottle of white). The scores for this wine seem to be taking potential into account more than where it is now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if my score rises a couple of points in the years to come. 93-94++
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10/6/2023 - AKC Likes this wine: 95 Points
Rich wine with layers of structure and complexity. Probably needs at least another year or two before it should be opened. Great depth of flavour with intense and long fruit flavours. The tannins have a drying effect but are integrated and the structure produces a very balanced wine. The wine has style and strength
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10/1/2023 - Blue Jay Likes this wine: 95 Points
Beautiful blend of blackberries, blueberries, leather and menthol with soft tannins.
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9/2/2023 - mckillop Likes this wine: 95 Points
A wonderful wine and a wonderful vintage!
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7/16/2023 - Matt Scott Likes this wine: 95 Points
Concentrated and full-bodied, this still has some desired freshness. Long finish and ripe, sweet tannins. Blackberries, plums, cherries, teak, anise and oolong tea. Very attractive now with all the stuffing and backbone to age very well. Mostly Cabernet, with Merlot and Sangiovese. Drink now - 2038.
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5/13/2023 - Blue Jay Likes this wine: 94 Points
Delicious Super Tuscan with blueberry, mocha, mocha and fine tannins
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3/23/2023 - Vinnut Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep dark reddish garnet in color. Full, forward & attractive nose of dark fruit aromas of cherries, black currants, mulberries with overtones of floral notes & dusty/earthy notes, tobacco, spices, herbs, cocoa & a hint of cedar. Full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, rich, ripe dark fruit flavors of cherries, blackberries and boysenberries, with spices, herbs, minerals, cocoa, some oak/vanilla. Lingering finish. Drinks quite well with decanting and extended airing (+90 minutes) but needs much more time to develop fully & completely at which time it may merit a higher score (94+).
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11/2/2022 - Juliansi Likes this wine: 91 Points
Grattamacco's flagship offering, this Bolgheri Superiore is a blend of 65% Cab Sauv, 25% Merlot, 15% Sangiovese.
Only 30,000 bottles produced annually, there is a distinct blackberry and cassis nose. Ripe plums and licorice on the palate, some spice and peppers and the development of what will be a medium to long luscious finish.
Definitely a 4 star wine (Vivino ratings) but will require at least another 5-8 years for the depth and complexity to expose itself, I can't wait to try that 2016 in my cellar later this decade!
Grattamacco was founded in 1977, one of the region's pioneers. Along with Sassicaia, Grattamacco was one of the first to start producing wines in this region.
Of the 80ha estate, only 29ha are dedicated to vines! The 10ha of vineyards dedicated to making this flagship Grattamacco are located on steep slopes 100 metres above sea level.
Visit to the estate, thanks to Michela for the incredible welcome.
Organised and arranged by our friends at Milawa and Collemassari.
2 Nov 2022
Bolgheri, Tuscany, Italy
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10/14/2022 - querilant Likes this wine: 93 Points
Second visit on our wine trip to Bolgheri was the Grattamacco winery, where Michela gave us a tour and tasting. Vermentino, L'Alberello and the Bolgheri superiore. Especially for us and to taste the difference with the young wines, she also opened a bottle of the 2001 Bolgheri superiore. Great experience at a great winery. Highly recommended visit.
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2/24/2022 - ManhattanBeach Likes this wine:
Bolgheri 2019 Anteprima (67 Pall Mall, London): 65% cab sav, 20% cab franc, 15% sangiovese, 18m in barrique. Great within the genre. Needs time but liked a lot.
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