2017 Grattamacco, Bolgheri Superiore, Tuscany, Italy

  • Red
  • Dry
  • Full Bodied
  • Cabernet Sauvignon
Ready - youthful
Richard Hemming MW
17+/20
James Suckling
94/100
Monica Larner
95/100
Aldo Fiordelli
96/100
Product: 20178034678
2017 Grattamacco, Bolgheri Superiore, Tuscany, Italy

Description

A heady perfume of meaty red fruit and spice rises from the glass on the bouquet. Rich and mouth-filling on the palate, a real vino di piacere with ripe red and black, spicy fruit vying for attention, brought together by rapier-like acidity and meltingly fine tannins. This delicious Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese blend from Bolgheri is not trying to be Sassicaia nor Ornellaia; it’s very much its own wine, more akin to Tignanello, but different again from the wine from Chianti Classico. It’s a delightful wine—delicious now but capable of up to a decade’s cellaring. 

Drink 2024 - 2032

Chris Pollington, Senior Account Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd

A pronounced bouquet swarms the glass with generous notes of ripe red fruit, black cherry, herbal notes and touches of cedar. Grattamacco were among the first to blend Cabernet into their wines in Bolgheri. They have been mastering these blends far longer than the likes of other Super Tuscans; this is a wine with fantastic depth and richness, silky integrated tannins and brilliant intensity. I was rather impressed with this wine; I must agree with the critics on this one. It’s really pleasurable to drink now, but of course, it will benefit from a couple of years in the cellar. 

Drink 2024 - 2032

Joshua Friend, Senior Account Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Colour Red
Sweetness Dry
Vintage 2017
Maturity Ready - youthful
Grape List Cabernet Sauvignon
Body Full Bodied
Producer Grattamacco

Critics reviews

Richard Hemming MW 17+/20
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 15% Sangiovese.Combines granite, cocoa and cherry, giving the palate an intense wall of flavour. There is a beautiful delicacy to the tannin and acid and a lengthy, savoury finish.Drink 2010 - 2037richard_hemming_mw, JancisRobinson.com (May 2021)
Drink 2010 - 2037
Richard Hemming MW, JancisRobinson.com (May 2021)
James Suckling 94/100
A beautiful red with berry, spice, light chocolate and clove. Medium to full-bodied with round tannins and a flavorful finish. Such finesse and beauty for this hot vintage. Drinkable now, but better after 2022.james_suckling, jamessuckling_com (April 2021)
Drink 2010 - 2037
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (Apr 2021)
Monica Larner 95/100
Congratulations to Grattamacco on the 35th anniversary of this iconic wine. The 2017 Bolgheri Superiore Grattamacco is an organic blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 15% Sangiovese fermented in open-top oak vats with ambient yeasts and aged in oak for 18 months. The fruit represents a special selection from over 25 hectares of vines planted in a mix of soils with clay, sandstone, limestone marl and flysch. The territorial impact on the wine's bouquet is strong, with dusty or salty notes that frame dark fruit, dried cherry and toasted spice. This wine shows polished elegance, which was not easy to achieve in this hot vintage. Production is 50,000 bottles.Drink 2021 - 2035monica_larner, Wine Advocate (December 2020)
Drink 2010 - 2037
Monica Larner, RobertParker.com (Dec 2020)
Aldo Fiordelli 96/100
The contribution of Sangiovese (15%) in the blend of Grattamacco makes it a distinctive Bolgheri Superiore. If on the nose Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are prevailing with cassis fruit, cedar and kiwi, full of balsamic depth, the indigenous grape pushes the fragrance of the wine with chewy wild fruit flavours—an exceptional expression in the hot vintage. This organic wine is complex and layered, without any foursquare character, and is waiting for extra complexity over its liquorice finish.Drink 2020 - 2040Aldo Fiordelli, Decanter.com (June 2020)
Drink 2010 - 2037
Aldo Fiordelli, Decanter.com (Jun 2020)

About this wine

Cabernet Sauvignon

The most famous red wine grape in the world and one of the most widely planted.
Find out more
Bolgheri

Bolgheri

A new DOC in the coastal Maremma region, Bolgheri first rose to prominence during the 1970s with the emergence of the so-called Super Tuscan wines like Ornellaia and Sassicaia. Having won universal acclaim and selling for unprecedented prices, the authorities relented and awarded Bolgheri its own DOC. The actions of the Super Tuscans inspired a generation in Italy, even if some of the wines here have lost a little of their lustre since.
Find out more

Need help?

Delivery and Quality Guarantee