Bibi Graetz Testamatta 2022

The production of both Testamatta and Colore was cut by two-thirds in 2022, partly because Bibi Graetz didn't want to use his south-facing vineyards in such a hot year. ‘I think there is more power, more energy,’ he says. Certainly, Testamatta is singing, and has closed the gap to Colore in 2022. It displays dusty, earthy notes, creamy dark cherry, green olive and spice on a vertical frame with stark salinity. It's precise and energetic, poised and balletic, with a beautiful vibrancy of tangy raspberry, cherry, wild herbs and a touch of plum.

• Drinking Window: 2024 - 2042
• Reviewer Name: James Button

Made with fruit from all north-facing vineyard sites (mostly in Olmo with a little bit from Lamole), the Bibi Graetz 2022 Testamatta is engineered to showcase the power of Sangiovese. Indeed, many parcels were recently removed from the blend in order to focus on fruit concentration and elegance. This was a hot growing season, but Bibi says that 2021 was also very warm (with more violent heat spikes during the summer). He lost a small percentage (about 7%) of fruit in 2022 and claims to have had an abundance of fruit in the challenging 2023 vintage. This wine is packed with dense berry fruit, blueberry, spice and soft earth. Bright acidic freshness adds backbone to Sangiovese.

• Reviewer Name: Monica Larner

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.

• Reviewer Name: Jane Anson