Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Tasted 10 years after the harvest, the Grattamacco 2013 Bolgheri Superiore Grattamacco is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 15% Sangiovese. This gorgeous wine is showing beautifully today with an extremely elegant bouquet featuring pressed cherry, blue flower, smoke and licorice. There is a hint of tilled earth or road pavement with wild mint that pops up brightly at the end. The fruit condition is spot-on, the tannins are polished and the acidity remains bright. This is a beautiful achievement and a wine that is aging superbly.
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Wine Spectator
Impressive, offering ripe, fading cherry and plum fruit, salty licorice, leather, herb and spice aromas and flavors. Hangs together nicely, with layers of flavor unfolding through the long finish. Shows terrific length and plenty of grip for aging. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese. Drink now through 2027. 6,000 cases made.
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James Suckling
I like the softness and freshness to this with medium body, silky tannins and a fruity and lemony undertone. Bright finish. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and sangiovese. Why wait?
Disenchanted with Italian winemaking laws in the 1970s, a few rebellious Tuscan winemakers decided to get creative. Instead of following tradition, to bottle Sangiovese by itself, they started blending it with international varieties, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah in differing proportions and with amazing success. However, some Tuscan Blends don’t even include Sangiovese. Somm Secret—The suffix –aia in Italian modifies a word in much the same way –y acts in English. For example, a place with many stones (sassi) becomes Sassicaia. While not all Super Tuscan producer names end in –aia, they all share a certain coy nomenclature.
An outstanding wine region made famous by Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, who planted Cabernet Sauvignon vines for his own consumption in 1940s on his San Guido estate, and called the resulting wine, Sassicaia. Today the region’s Tuscan reds are based on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which can be made as single varietal wines or blends. The local Sangiovese can make up no more than 50% of the blends. Today Sassicaia has its own DOC designation within the Bogheri DOC appellation.