Italy

Sangiovese

Bibi Graetz

Bibi Graetz Testamatta Toscana

Tuscany

Toscana

Takes time to open up, a structured vintage of Testamatta, full of charm. Juicy, savoury, unfussy, white tea, sage, cranberry, red cherry, mandarin, delicious stuff from winemaker Bibi Graetz. Fermented and aged in a mix of 500l casks and 225l new oak barrels, natural yeasts, three punch downs per day, then into neutral oak barrels for 18 months before botting. Harvest September 15 to mid October.

Inside Bordeaux

Leans heavily on the side of simplicity and "elegance" lacks depth complexity and structure to be more spectacular. Don't get me wrong it's a beautiful wine but also quite anonymous in it's expression. Intriguing but to me the structure and weight is off to give more expression and depth to the subtile complexity it tires to achieve.

Amateur

Dark ruby red in color. Medium aroma intencity of red fruit and vanilla. Fruity and fresh in mouth with cherry, tobacco and leather. Long dry finish with well integrated tanins. 
Wow, this was really good. 

Amatør

The 20 year anniversary vintage, bright cherry red in colour; medium intensity visually and yet full intensity on the palate. Sweet raspberry and red cherry fruit, edges of smoked caramel and butterscotch, fine boned tannins, elegant and juicy and moreish. A balanced vintage, with cooler weather leading up to harvest that meant slow ripness and all these bursting out of the glass floral and fruit aromatics, with focus and subtle power. Comes at you in waves. Harvest from September 21 to October 8. Fermented with natural yeasts, aged in oak casks and neutral barrels for 20 months. Last tasted July 2021.

WSET 2

Sommelier

An excellent vintage, with naturally low yields that by this point Bibi was not pushing in any way, moving towards more natural vineyard management, wild yeasts and fully organic farming. Love the complex nuanced layers of smoke, liqourice, raspberry and savoury redcurrant. Clear spices, one of the most distinctive in terms of its clove, rosemary and Tuscan underbrush in the lineup. Even though only 8 years old, this is lghter in colour and weight than the earlier vintages, clearly showing the changes in winemaking (shorter extraction and less new oak among the more evident evolutions), and putting paid to the idea that you need heavy extraction to deliver intensity and flavour.

2012 was a challenging vintage due to a hailstorm during the growing season, followed by a hot summer with drought that gave small berries with thick skins. And yet the colour here is bright pale cherry red, with vibrant reflective edges that remain full of life at 10 years old. Ripe concentrated fruits, orange peel, cloves and rich sweet cherry flavours. Concentrated tannins, a little subdued overall, there is more life waiting to unfurl over the next few years.

A dry but relatively fresh year, not as concentrated as the 2010 but it has finesse, with dried rosemary, cloves and tobacco notes. This has a chiselled and focused quality to the fruits, with Sangiovese character. At this point things were changing in the vineyard, with shoots left to grow rather than being cut back during the season, more bunches left on the vines to increase yield, and organic farming. Balanced, fresh, elegant, ready to drink. Moreish.

A key vintage in the story of Testamatta, from a seriously impressive, concentrated year in Tuscany, excellent quality, intense, late harvest with full ripeness. Intense and layered with liqourice and cassis notes, tobacco, rosemary and underbrush spices, with orange peel and fig on the finish. It's delicious - and one of the last Testamatta wines made in this concentrated style with swagger, so a fascinating one to compare with the more recent years. By this point Bibi had converted to organic production, as of the 2008 vintage. Great persistency.

Concentrated, with waves of black cherry, plum, prune, dried flowers, morelle mushrooms, leather and chocolate. Full-bodied with well balanced and velvety tannins. Long and soft tannins, yet still powerful and intense. An early harvest after a hot summer, spread through the first two weeks of September.

The most Tuscan so far in the vertical, full of fragrant tobacco, dried flowers, red cherries, fennel and pure liqourice bud. A trace of drying tannins on the finish that betrays the oak use but this is juicy, powerful and mouthwatering. Has energy and balance, still broad shouldered and concentrated, high alcohol and high acidity with plenty of life ahead.

Full bodied, supple tannins, sweet red cherry, prune, rose petals, cloves, tobacco, silky texture overall. This is concentrated and powerful, and lifts through the finish with the freshness of hillside Sangiovese. Toasted oak remains dominant but this has pesonality, impact and sets out its stall with confidence. Gets better and better after a few hours opening. The first year with 100% Sangiovese in the blend, as Testamatta has remained ever since.

Enticing smoky notes, edges of tar, still full bodied at 16 years old, with cassis, prune, cigar and dried rose petals. The tannins are a touch drying through the finish but there is persistency and a sappy salinity that is utterly charming. A real milestone vintage that belongs in the cellar of any collector of this wine, as this was the year that Bibi began doing the blend himself, without an external consultant, so moving from the role of owner (and viticulturalist, as he had always been) to winemaker in the truest sense. It is not showing the full expression of what Testamatta would become a few years later, and the oak remains a touch intrusive dominant, but it sets out the building blocks. A late harvest year that began 15 days later than usual.

This is showing clear evolution, with soft brambled berry fruits, soy and tobacco leaf character, and soft campfire smoke. Ready to drink. A challenging vintage in Tuscany, with a cold and wet Spring, and a cool Summer, although Testamatta's elevation and aeration helped avoid the worst of the issues. I have enjoyed this vintage in the past, and it still has charm, but I suggest drinking up over the next five years if you have bottles. Consultant Alberto Antonini.

2001 is powerful and concentrated, even more so than the 2000 (the colour remains amost inky at 21 years old), reflective of a hot and dry summer, and winemaking techniques that involved low yields, bleeding off juice in the cellar for greater concentration, and liberal oak. It was generous and impressive in its early years (winning Best Red Wine in the World at a wine trade show) and it retains structure and power, laden with liquorice, chocolate block and attractive black cherry fruit, but the tannin quality is harsher than the 2000, and you feel the hand of the winemaker over the location. Consultant Alberto Antonini.

The first vintage of Testamatta, created by Bibi Graetz from 2ha of vines by his family estate near Florence. As elsewhere in Europe, the 2000 vintage had challenges during the growing season but ultimately delivered wines with power and substance. This remains dark ruby in colour at 22 years old, intense and structured with hints of tertiary character with dried roses, tobacco, fig and Girolle mustrhooms. Old school Super Tuscan in its swagger and shoulders, with great fruit quality, open and welcoming. Consultant Alberto Antonini.

Category	Red wine
Vinmonopolet no.
Producer	Bibi Graetz
Vintages	2022
Country	Italy, Tuscany, Toscana
Bottle	75 cl

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Sugar	g/l

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