Bibi Graetz Toscana Colore Rosso 2019 750ml

This is so perfumed and seductive, with blackberries, cherries, dried flowers and perfume. It’s full-bodied and tight with very fine tannins. Really structured and long. Superb tannin texture. So fine, yet so powerful. This is an incredible combination of fruit and structure. Old-vine magic. Drink after 2026.

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 destemming 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.

This year saw larger yields and bigger production overall. The Bibi Graetz 2019 Colore offers soft mineral notes and pretty fruit tones with violet and lilac at the back. This vintage not only delivered more in terms of quantity, but it also gives a lot in terms of flavor intensity and fruit weight. It is naturally concentrated and rich with tannins that have an elegantly chalky element. The 2019 is undergoing a very positive bottle evolution.

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 licorice and balsamic tones slowly fade. This is a radiant beauty and nearly unrecognizable from the old, large-scale stylings of Bibi Graetz. Well done.

Forest berry, camphor, toasted nut and floral aromas lift out of the glass on this linear red. The elegantly structured, focused palate features juicy red cherry, blood orange, espresso and star anise alongside taut, refined tannins. It's balanced, with fresh acidity.

This red blossoms with air, revealing cherry, currant, earth and spice matched to an elegant frame. Balanced and fresh, with a firm, persistent finish that evokes fruit, mineral and savory notes. Decant now. Drink now through 2028. 2,000 cases made, 250 cases imported.

Colore is the highest expression of Bibi Graetz dream. The drive of this wine is to create a pure excellence of Tuscany, a wine made with traditional Tuscan grapes sourced from some of the oldest and rarest vineyards of the region. Sangiovese represent the structure and the power of the wine, Colorino fruits and velvety tannins, Canaiolo minerality and intensity. On the best few barrels of the whole production will become Colore.