2011 Bibi Graetz Testamatta Rosso Toscana IGP 750 ml

Renegade Tuscan Vinter's 'La Tâche' of Italy"

Bibi Graetz’s Testamatta is an Italian legend, a 100% Sangiovese perfumed with sandalwood and morello cherry that James Suckling called “one of Tuscany’s true cult wines” and among the “12 Best Collectible Wines of Tuscany.”

From his family’s estate overlooking the hills of Florence, Graetz cultivates grapes from 80-year-old indigenous vines and fashions them into sleek, silky, magnificently aromatic wines of Burgundian elegance. Flirting with perfection, the wonderfully refined 2011 took 98 points from Suckling, putting it in the rarefied company of the 2006 vintage. A perfectly preserved library release, this one-of-a-kind “magical” Sangiovese is on every collector’s wish list.

Tasting with the inimitable Bibi Graetz can be a somewhat harrowing experience at times, as we were reminded when we recently found ourselves in the damp cellar of his castle outside Florence. A former abstract painter, he’s been called “a renegade Tuscan vintner” and “a proud off-the-grid winemaker” by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. Independent-minded and intellectual, he is known for his honesty, unsparing in his assessments of vintages and his own wines.

Enchanted by this 2011, we couldn’t help but gush over the beautifully developed bouquet of sweet spice, leather, licorice, and dark fruit, the tannins honed to silky smoothness, the harmonious integration. Graetz gave no response, neither assenting nor dissenting, meeting our remarks with nothing but a near-imperceptible nod.

As the conversation continued, we finally said something that broke him out of his contemplation as he sipped and sniffed alongside us. We noted the striking similarities of the Testamatta to some of the great red Burgundies—that ethereal elegance and trademark aromas of rose petals and strawberry. We’re not the only ones to have noticed this: Suckling once compared the Testamatta to Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s La Tâche. Graetz cracked a smile and nodded—perceptibly, this time.

The resemblance was no mere coincidence. Like the best of Beaune, Graetz pursues organic viticulture in the fields, farming over 197 acres of vines, a mix of owned and leased, much of it over 80 years in age. His approach in the cellar is non-interventionist as well, using 10- to 15-year-old barrels, only 3% new, with open-top fermentation.

Graetz fell into winemaking in the 1990s when family contracts on vineyards were about to run out. His early vintages would be familiar to any collector of Super Tuscans—bold, rich, and brooding. But Graetz, ever the iconoclast, broke off in a different direction, seeking old vines and a fresher, more balanced expression unique to the terroir near his estate.

Testamatta, appropriately, roughly translates into “hot head”—and a more passionate, individualistic expression of Tuscan terroir you will not find. This is a treasure that will be a point of pride, and deserves ample shelf space, in any cellar.