2018 Bibi Graetz, 'Testamatta' (100 Points Decanter) - Single Bottle

The Making of a 100 Point Wine

Coming from a family of artists, and a fine painter himself as can be seen on his labels, Bibi Graetz is a creative soul, and when he got into wine he became obsessed. Since then he has been perfecting the art of coaxing the ultimate terroir expression of old vine Sangiovese from some of the best vineyard sites on the top of the rolling hills around Tuscany. His latest release is testament to his craftsmanship, creativity and passion.

‘Testamatta’ literally translates as ‘crazy head’, but colloquially its use has a rich complexity to describe someone who is positive, creative and passionate - it couldn’t be a more apt name for Bibi’s most personal wine. He openly admits to having never opened a book about wine-making, his approach is not based on scientific vigour. Instead he prefers to do everything by touch, smell and sight, and spends hours in the vineyards and the cellars thinking, tinkering and perfectly blending every element that makes up this most extraordinary piece of art that is Testamatta.

Bibi uses a blend of Sangiovese from 5 different small vineyard plots with high elevations around the Tuscan hills. All of the sites possess old-vines, some over 100 years old, grown on varying soils. Using grapes from a blend of vineyard sites is like a painter using various colours, brushstrokes and other techniques to produce a fine painting. The old vines provide striking concentration, the blend of vineyards gives unparalleled complexity and the altitude of the vineyards along with Bibi’s creativity and light touch give energy, freshness and brightness to it all.