Bibi Graetz, Toscana Testamatta 2018
‘Finely textured, with a nuanced perfume that fills the glass and takes you to the intense underbrush of Tuscany. Succulent and yet savoury, this has a lilting freshness that is overlaid with ripe berry fruits, sage and white pepper spice, and clear minerality in terms of its scraping texture that makes your mouth water on the finish. Feels light and sculpted and yet has an intensity that skewers you to the spot. This is a great wine, with scope and imagination that doesn't want to let you go. Genuinely stands out among the wines of this tasting, and these are a fine array of wines…’
100/100 Jane Anson, Decanter, August 2020
‘Very subtle aromas of cherries, bark, black truffles and flowers. Hints of crushed stones. It's full-bodied, yet very tight and solid with a very tight, minerally structure. Very long and intense. Racy and bright at the the end. Powerful, orange-peel and citrus-fruit undertones. Salty and minerally. This needs time to develop in the bottle. Extremely structured. A wine not to touch until after 2023.’
97/100 James Suckling
‘The 2018 Testamatta shows elegant Sangiovese purity and transparency, starting with delicate wild berry and blueberry tones and finishing long with pretty accents of crushed limestone and a touch of campfire ash. In the glass, the wine is radiant and vivid with a luminous ruby or garnet color. Oak use is reduced to a bare minimum, with barrels that are up to their 16th year of use. "The older they are, the better," Bibi explains. As the wine opens in the glass, it presents pretty lilac and violet. This wine represents a blend of fruit from various sites (all with old vines that are farmed organically) across the region of Tuscany. The northern-most sites close to Florence tend to add the floral notes that are so characteristic of this cool vintage (which saw a bit more rain than average and extra work in the vineyards to kept these vines healthy). I visited the vineyards with Bibi in 2018 and remember how beautiful the grapes appeared on the vines. Much of the fruit used here comes from the Vigna del Cancello in Casciano del Murlo, which is midway between Siena and Montalcino. These southern sites give the wine its backbone and tannins. Bibi Graetz tells me that he struggled to create the blend for this 60,000-bottle release. He decided on a final blend, only to change his mind and re-blend two and a half months later. His second stab was specifically aimed at capturing finesse and softening the wine's tannic imprint. Indeed, the wine ultimately offers more in length (with fresh fruit flavors and bright acidity) than it does in power or mid-palate. The finish is silky, long and very fine.’
94/100 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
| Supplier's website | Bibi Graetz |
|---|---|
| Wine colour | Red wine |
| Country | Italy |
| Appellation | IGT Toscana |
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Grape variety | Sangiovese |
| Alcohol | 14% |
| Bottle size | 750 ml |
Orders of €150+: free delivery in Ireland and Northern Ireland
All other orders: €15 flat rate delivery in Ireland and Northern Ireland
Orders are usually dispatched in the first two working days after receipt.
We cannot guarantee delivery on a given day. If the delivery date is important, please let us know, and we'll put one of our 'Not to Be Opened Before' stickers on the box and aim for delivery a day or two early.
Your orders are delivered by courier to ensure fast and reliable delivery of each carefully packaged consignment. Because nobody likes breakages, we use very strong and secure packaging specially designed to protect wine bottles.
Pulpsafe boxes are recycled, recyclable and very strongPersonalised champagne orders are dispatched to anticipate your requested deadline (see above), or otherwise as soon as possible. Please allow at least one extra working day for these orders to be prepared.
Eircodes please
The ideal delivery address has someone available to sign for parcels during office hours, so a work address may be a better choice than a home address. An Eircode eliminates any doubt about the delivery location, and you can find or check Eircodes here.
Phone numbers please
Our couriers do their best to deliver and often have amazing local knowledge, but in the event of difficulties a reliable telephone number for the recipient makes all the difference and is a required piece of information. A mobile number is usually best.
Track your order
When we dispatch your order, we send on a tracking code so that you can follow your order in transit on the courier's website.
Delivery outside Ireland
If you need delivery to Northern Ireland, our €15 standard rate applies, with orders of €150 and more travelling free—for the time being.
We do not generally send wine overseas because of the complicated bureaucratic requirements and very high cost. If you would nonetheless like more information about deliveries outside the island of Ireland, please ask.
Returns
Faulty bottles
Wine is a natural product: its variety is what makes it so interesting!
Sometimes, though, a faulty bottle turns up. It's rare, but it does happen.
We want you to enjoy the wines you buy from us, and we'd like you to enjoy doing business with us too.
If you are unlucky enough to receive a bad bottle, please let us know immediately by calling the office on 021 431 6000 and we'll arrange a replacement or issue a credit in compensation.
Broken or Damaged Deliveries
Despite our best efforts to wrap and pack securely, damage in transit occurs from time to time.
If there's a breakage, our couriers will normally return the whole fragrant mess to us straight away.
If, however, the damage isn't apparent until you open the box, we'd still prefer to have the whole parcel collected. We'll send you a replacement as soon as possible.
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