Wine & Spirits - Winter 2019 - 67

O LD WO RLD

Top 100 Wineries

Grattamacco

Tenuta San Guido

ITALY | TUSCANY
Cooling sea breezes and well-timed summer rains mitigated the
heat of the 2015 and 2016 seasons at Grattamacco, resulting in
back-to-back successes with its top-level Bolgheri Superiore.

ITALY | TUSCANY
Sassicaia is the most refined and elegant wine we tasted from
Bolgheri's warm and dry 2015 season, while Guidalberto and Le
Difese showcase the buoyant personality of the 2016 vintage, creating anticipation for the next release of Sassicaia.

LUCA MARRONE

THE BERTARELLI FAMILY MADE its fortune in pharmaceuticals before expanding into capital management, real estate, yacht racing and, eventually, wine production. Maria Iris Bertarelli and
her brother, Claudio Tipa, acquired their first
Tuscan property in 1999 with the purchase of
the ColleMassari estate in Montecucco. They
turned their attention next to nearby Bolgheri,
gaining control in 2002 of Grattamacco, one of
the region's earliest and most highly regarded
estates. Tipa, working with consultant Maurizio
Castelli, upgraded the facilities and hired Luca
Marrone, a young oenologist from Abruzzo who
had worked in wineries in Italy, Chile and New
Zealand. They continued producing the estate's
two red blends, a Bolgheri Rosso and Bolgheri
Superiore. The latter includes 15 percent sangiovese, a variety that struggles in Bolgheri's
warm climate but thrives in Grattamacco's vineyards, which climb to 330 feet above the Tyrrhenian coast. Tipa also initiated a project to
plant the region's first alberello (bush-trained)
vines, which are more resistant to hot and dry
vintages, releasing the first bottles of L'Alberello
with the 2004 vintage. In 2011, Tipa and Bertarelli acquired the Poggio di Sotto estate in
Montalcino, another of our Top 100 wineries this
year. -S.J.

TENUTA SAN GUIDO IS BOLGHERI'S most historic
estate, though the vinous history of this coastal
region is brief by Italian standards. Mario Incisa
della Rochetta planted his first grapes in 1944,
choosing cabernet sauvignon because he loved
Bordeaux and saw a resemblance between the
stony soils of his Sassicaia vineyard and those
of Bordeaux's Graves region. His first release
from the vineyard, the 1968 Sassicaia, started
the trend of Bordeaux-style blends from the Tuscan coast and gained such renown that in 1994
it became the only Italian wine to achieve DOC
status within a single estate. If Mario Incisa modeled Sassicaia after Bordeaux's Left Bank wines,
his son Nicolò Incisa took cues from the Right
Bank in 2000, combining cabernet sauvignon
with 40 percent merlot to create the plush, velvety Guidalberto. Le Difese, the third wine in the
lineup, is even more accessible, blending cabernet sauvignon with 20 percent sangiovese to add
a Tuscan brightness. -S.J.

MARCHESE NICOLO
INCISA DELLA
ROCHETTA

2015 Bolgheri Superiore ($135, 96 points) From
a warm vintage, this is bold and rich, with vibrant flavors of plum and blackberry laced with notes of licorice, tobacco and graphite. Smooth, ripe tannins and
lively spice notes amp up the fruit, lasting through
the layered, elegant finish.
1977
Claudio
Tipa and Maria
Iris Bertarelli
FOUNDED:
OWNERS:

WINEMAKER:

2016 Bolgheri Superiore ($135, 95 points) This
2016 has more immediate appeal than the richer
2015, with a crunchy freshness to its flavors of black
currant and raspberry, further enlivened by notes of
licorice and spice and bright acidity.

Luca Marrone
VITICULTURIST:

Giuliano Guerrini
ACRES OWNED: 67
CASES PRODUCED:

12,500
ESTATE GROWN:

100%
IMPORTERS:

Leonardo
Locascio Selections/Winebow
Imports, NY

2016 Bolgheri Superiore L'Alberello ($80, 93
points) From a five-acre plot of alberello-trained
vines, this is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and petit verdot. Harvested on the same
day and cofermented spontaneously with ambient
yeasts, the blend rested for 16 months in French oak
barriques (50 percent new) before bottling. The 2016
is earthy and dark, with concentrated dark-berry flavors accented by notes of tobacco, black olive and
roasted mushroom. The wine brightens over time,
taking on hints of eucalyptus and menthol while
sneaky acidity freshens the dense, chewy texture.

2015 Bolgheri Sassicaia ($245, 97 points) The
2015 Sassicaia is fine-boned and silky, combining
the elegance and balance of a fine Left Bank Bordeaux with the sun-drenched flavors of fruit grown
on the Tuscan coast. The wine aged for two years in
French oak barrels, just one-third new, lending subtle
spice and licorice notes to the saturated black cherry
and raspberry flavors.

1948
Nicolò
Incisa della
Rochetta

FOUNDED:
OWNER:

2016 Toscana Guidalberto ($60, 94 points) The
long, moderate 2016 growing season produced a
voluptuous yet vibrant Guidalberto. A blend of cabernet sauvignon with 40 percent merlot, the wine aged
for 15 months in French and American oak barrels,
gaining velvety tannins and juicy red and black berry
flavors. It has no hard edges at all, just ripe fruit flavors and warm earthy tones that emanate an inner
energy and freshness.

WINEMAKERS:

Nicolò Incisa
della Rochetta,
Carlo Paoli
VITICULTURIST:

Nicola Politi
ACRES OWNED:

6,000
CASES PRODUCED:

17,200
ESTATE GROWN:

100%
Kobrand,
Purchase, NY

IMPORTER:

2016 Toscana Le Difese ($40, 91 points) A blend
of cabernet sauvignon with 30 percent sangiovese,
Le Difese offers lots of immediate appeal. Its scents
of fresh cherry and dewy rose petals lead into bright,
plummy flavors, with ample acidity to keep the wine
taut and lively.

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Wine & Spirits - Winter 2019

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