2018 Colore del Testamatta
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
90% Sangiovese, 5% Canaiolo, 5% Colorino. A mild, stable vintage across Tuscany with few extreme weather incidents. Sunny and dry around harvest with cool nights and no heat spikes. Vintage started end September, finished mid October. Graetz explained that there was no green harvest, now favouring letting the vine find its own equilibrium. Very restrained and pure on both the nose and palate, this is extremely youthful but will evolve into a fine Colore. Manages to be both soft in texture yet with plenty of structure for the long-haul. Dark, bitter-cherry notes mingle with an intriguing note of dark soy sauce, as well as violet and fresh pine on the nose. Great freshness and length on the finish. (AH)
Critic scores
Average Score
Andy Howard MW, Jancisrobinson.com
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
The Bibi Graetz 2018 Colore has fruit from Lamole, Vincigliata, Siena and Bagno a Ripoli from sites at 400 meters above sea level. These higher-elevation plots, plus especially the Lamole fruit, add beautiful perfumes and freshness to the blend. This wine has it all, but compared to some of the younger vintages tasted in this vertical, the intensity is taken down a little lower in the 2018. This translates to fine tannins and a mid-weight mouthfeel. This wine is more immediate and perhaps a bit understated at this point in its evolution.
The pureness of fruit in this is so impressive with blueberries, blackberries and other blue fruit. Itâs dense and layered with full and velvety tannins that give it a plush texture. Racy and beautiful. A vertical line runs through the center palate of tannins and acidity, adding brightness and focus. The finish lasts for minutes.
About the producer
Based just outside Florence, Bibi Graetz is something of a maverick in the Tuscan wine scene. Working with old vineyards of indigenous grapes around Chianti, he produces intense wines classified as IGT Toscana; not fitting neatly in either the Super Tuscan or Chianti camp.