Grattamacco, Podere Grattamacco 2023

The 2023 Grattamacco is pure and total sensuality. Readers will find an understated Grattamacco, a wine that is more finesse than power. Dark red-toned fruit, tobacco, incense, spice box and mocha caress the palate. A long, beautifully resonant finish rounds things out in style. All the 2023 needs is a few years in bottle, even though it is pretty delicious in the early going.

A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 15% Sangiovese, the 2023 Bolgheri Superiore Grattamacco shows a full, generous profile marked by dark fruit, spice, grilled herb and pencil shaving. The fruit is sourced from 15 hectares of vineyards with limestone, flysch, marl, quartz and sandstone soils, elements that contribute brightness and a sense of aromatic sharpness. Shaped by a growing season that favored balance over sheer power, this carries youthful tannins, but compared to the rigidity of the 2022 vintage, the wine appears poised for a more harmonious and measured evolution.

A restrained, minerally and smoky red with aromas of embers, bark, slate, kiwi peel, fresh bramble fruit and cedar. More energetic than powerful. Full-bodied with firm and velvety tannins and very good refinement. It’s tight and crisp yet long and polished. Drinkable now, but best from 2027.

The 2023 Grattamacco, a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and the rest Sangiovese, pours a saturated red hue and is deeply expressive, with notes of tobacco, rosemary, black cherry, olive, dark stone, and tea leaf. Full-bodied, it has bright acidity, iron-tinged lift, and a saline, mouthwatering quality, with well-defined tannins and a lightly gravelly finish. It shows a bit of youthful tension today but has excellent structure and a strong mineral core with the potential for long-term aging. Drink 2027-2047.