Ratings:
98
James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com
"The aromas of dried flowers, stones, dark tea leaves, hot tile, and dark berries. Full-bodied, yet tight and linear. Wonderful drive and depth. An extremely long and focused finish. A great wine. Needs four or five years to come together. Try in 2022."
96 Wine & Spirits
"Galatrona leads an impressive set of wines from Luca Sanjust in the moderate 2016 growing season. Pure merlot from a 25-acre plot of vines planted in the 1990s, it unfolds with beautiful scents of dewy violets and thyme. The flavors are as precise as the aromas, with fresh acidity highlighting the ripe blue and black fruit tones. The wine aged for 18 months in French oak barriques, about one-third new, developing supple tannins and subtle spice notes. Taut and herb inflected, it’s a merlot for people who think they don’t like merlot."
95 Wine Spectator
"This is full of enticing blackberry, blueberry and plum flavors, with a spine of acidity, iron accents and beefy tannins. Long and well-proportioned, this needs time to integrate. Tobacco and spice hints detail the finish. Best from 2022 through 2033. 75 cases imported." -Bruce Sanderson
Product Description:
"The wine Galatrona is a Cru of Merlot made from the
vineyard Galatrona planted in various phases during the
1990’s with low vigor bordeaux clones in the locality known
as Feriale. The vineyard extends for 10 Ha with almost 50.000
plants grown on spurred cordon trellising.
Loam rich in clay, with shale, marl and sandstones. Altitude
300 m asl. South-eastern exposure. Placed on the southeastern
borders of the Chianti Hills, in the DOC Val d’Arno di
Sopra. Clay helps keeping moisture in the soil, of which
merlot has higher needs in the hot, dry, Tuscan summers. The
combination of stones, shale and clay is among the elements
that allow Galatrona to produce elegant and full bodied
wines even in what are considered minor vintages.
Official Organic
Certification was obtained from harvest 2016 (Petrolo olive
oil is organic since the 90’s). To achieve natural balance in
the vineyard, plant management is made by hand with
targeted intervention.
Petrolo extends over 272 hectares between 250 and 400 meters above sea level, in an area known since early '800 for its prestigious wines. The estate properties are set in the Val d'Arno Superiore among the hills of the "Chianti Colli Aretini" an area bordering the south-eastern part of Chianti Classico, on moderately loose-packed soil composed of rocky stratifications of claystone, shale and lime stone.
Winemaking at Petrolo, since the second half of the 80's has been aiming to produce wines with character, connected to our territory thanks to vines of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Faithful to this project the selection of grapes is today increasingly important, convincing our plants to produce low yields and a careful and caring work in the cellar want to sustain and improve nature's result, without ruining it. In the 50's there were 1500 plants per hectare for a production of 3500 hectoliters of wine while today with 5500 plants per hectare, production has been reduced to little less than 700 hectoliters. An accurate selection that wants to add quality and beauty to what is already by nature, extremely precious.
This is the idea at the heart of Petrolo's wines, each one of high level, each one tended towards the greatest quality. Petrolo doesn't make basic wines, only great wines. The winery has been improving in recent years following this idea, only aiming towards labels that could guarantee high quality and that could represent a coherent identity of the Estate. Making great wines is a complex challenge, a coincidence of circumstances are needed: special pedoclimatic conditions, awareness and delicate work in the vineyard and in the cellar and finally, a good dose of luck." -Winery