2019, Bibi Graetz, Colore Rosso, TUSCANY

Sweet spices, autumnal leaves, wild strawberries and white smoke hints make the 2019 Colore a total pleasure on the nose. This is wildly energetic and spry with tart wild berries accelerated by zesty acidity. Its fruits are crisp and pure, driven by saline minerality and exotic spices. The 2019 finishes lightly structured and buzzing with residual tension as liquorice and balsamic tones slowly fade. This is a radiant beauty and nearly unrecognisable from the old, large-scale stylings of Bibi Graetz. Well done. 94 Eric Guido, Vinous (2023).

Dressed for a party, the Bibi Graetz 2019 Colore celebrates the estate's 20th anniversary with a special commemorative (2000-2019) bottle. This vintage of Colore is 100% Sangiovese (the small part of Colorino in the blend we saw last year has been removed) because Bibi thought the Sangiovese elegant enough to stand alone. Fruit comes from three vineyard sites with 70-, 80- and 90-year-old vines, respectively. The wine offers big intensity and beautifully lifted aromas and more textural support than we saw in the slightly thinner 2018 vintage. The bouquet reveals balsam herb, cassis, pressed rose, garden mint and crushed stone. Fruit from the southernmost site, Poggio Matto in Casciano del Murlo (in the province of Siena), was blended in at a greater percentage to help build the structure and momentum of this cellar-worthy wine. 96 Monica Larner, Wine Advocate (2021).

The ?dream? in Italian, this is from very old, high-altitude vineyards on stony soils mixed with sand and stone. This is one of the wines of the tasting, a real showstopper that captures your interest and holds it all the way. Red cherries and strawberries dominate the nose with softly-spiced liquorice touches. But it?s the texture that?s so captivating, gripping straight away and holding you there, but in a soft and gentle way. Bright acidity comes in keeping things fresh and welcoming while the structure and length give a lovely roundness. A real success. Grapes for Colore are sourced from three vineyards, with each harvested up to eight times. After the first selection in the vineyards, a second selection occurs at the winery before de-stemming where grapes are softly pressed and placed in open-top barriques, keeping each plot and parcel separate from the others. The fermentation is conducted naturally by indigenous yeasts without temperature control lasting up to two weeks, with one extra week of maceration on the skins. After the fermentation the wine is moved into new barriques, where the malolactic fermentation happens. Each parcel is aged separately for almost 20 months before the final blend is decided. 98 Georgina Hindle, Decanter (2021).

Drinking Window: 2025 - 2036