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Timeless Super-Tuscans with a Different Touch

A Note from Sergio

Grattamacco, I've mentioned before, was the second Super Tuscan in Bolgheri--only Sassicaia preceded the estate. Maybe it's because it was first, or maybe it's because it has that aristocratic cachet of the Incisa della Rocchetta family, Sassicaia has always overshadowed its neighbor. Grattamacco has always ridden a quiet shotgun in the Super-Tuscan car, and that actually seems like a position that the estate is pretty happy to sit in.

Unlike its more glamorous neighbor, Grattamacco has an unassuming profile. Begun in 1977 by former 3-M exec Piermario Meletti Cavallari, Grattamacco has a personality that is a little on the studious, earnest, even geeky side. But however low-key their demeanor, the estate also quietly holds a few aces in its hand. For one thing, they're one of the few estates in Bolgheri who can grow the emblematic grape of Toscana, Sangiovese. The estate sits on this windy plain 100m above sea level, where it's not only is it sunny 300 days a year, it's also windy on all of them. It's this crazy microclimate of dry, sunny, and breezy, and those factors combined with an unusually wide variation in day and night temperatures and some seriously rocky soil means that they can grow Sangiovese better than anyone else in Bolgheri.

Grattamacco's studious side means that it's always tinkering with things. The estate's owner, its winemaker, Luca Maronna, and its consultant enologist, Maurizio Castelli, can't leave well enough alone. That turns out to be a good thing. Whether it's the choice to grow organic, the decision to grow all their grape varietals side by side and harvest them simultaneously, or the creation of these strange Rube Goldberg contraptions that tip the grapes gently into the maceration vat, the estate ceaselessly, restlessly experiments. The result is that it makes some beautifully age-worthy wines that could only come from this particular corner of Bolgheri--and that year after year, they can repeat that expression.

Grattamacco likes being different. Their wines are different. They're intellectual and engaging. They're like being out at dinner party and finding out the stranger you're talking to is an astrophysicist with a great sense of humor. These are wines for people who like to ask questions, who enjoy their curiosity and who find pleasure in the lesser-known entity.

This week, I'm delighted to bring your four vintages of Grattamacco, all of them at least twelve years old.  Open one and toast to your favorite intellectual--or better yet, share a bottle with him or her.