2012 Grattamacco Bolgheri Rosso Superiore L'Alberello

Grattamacco was one of the first estates to stake out territory in Bolgheri in the 1970s. In 1977 its founders bought property on the top of a hill overlooking the sea in western Tuscany. Today the 74-acre estate, which includes 27 acres of vineyards, is owned by the Tipa family, who also own Colle Massari and Poggio di Sotto. Like other wineries in the region Grattamacco specializes in wines that are a blend of Bordeaux grape varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and Sangiovese. Gambero Rosso regularly awards the estate’s top red wine with 3 Bicchieri, the highest rating, and in 2014 named Grattamacco Winery of the Year.

Bolgheri is a tiny village just inland from the western Tuscan coast with a storybook renaissance castle but no train station. To wine enthusiasts, however, Bolgheri DOC is perhaps Italy’s most exciting wine appellation. It is the cultural heart of the Maremma, the coastal stretch of Tuscany where some of the first Super Tuscans were produced commercially in the late 1960s. Various members of the legendary Antinori wine dynasty and other influential producers established estates in Bolgheri starting in the 1970s, creating such Super Tuscans as Guado Al Tasso and Ornellaia. Bolgheri was awarded DOC status in 1983. Red, white and dessert wines are made in this appellations, and many of the most renowned are the Super Tuscans made from blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sangiovese and other red varietals. The white wines are blends of Vermentino and Trebbiano. The reds are notable for being blends that have a distinctive Tuscan terroir.