Grattamacco L'Alberello Bolgheri Superiore

L'Alberello bottle image

Wine Description

Grattamacco was founded in 1977 and was the second winery of the Bolgheri appellation, following Sassicaia. Grattamacco has lead the region in environmentally responsible farming, and was the first to use an Alberello or head-pruned method in Bolgheri. 

Barrel Samples
Vineyards
Subsoil
Luca Marrone Chief enologist of Grattamacco
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Acclaim
“A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Cabernet Franc, the Grattamacco 2020 Bolgheri Superiore l’Alberello sees fruit from 15-year-old vines, and everything is harvested on the same day. The wine ages in barrique for 18 months. The bouquet evokes dry aromas of Sicilian oregano, grilled thyme and earthy licorice root. On the palate, you get good length and general complexity with rich tart fruit, cherry and blackberry that can still go the distance.” — Wine Advocate, Feb 2024
“There's a yin and yang between the lush blackberry, black currant and cherry fruit and the tense, grainy tannins in this red, which starts out fluid, then tightens up as it builds to the long finish. Mineral and underbrush notes add depth. Just feels more youthful than its peers at this stage.”
— Wine Spectator, Oct 2023
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Vineyard & Production Info
Soil composition
silt soil,browny and red clay
Training method
alberello (sapling) bush vine
Elevation:
165 feet
Exposure:
Various
Year vineyard planted:
2004
Harvest time:
September 23rd-24th
Bottles produced of this wine:
8,000
Average Vine Age:
14
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Winemaking & Aging
Maceration length:
21 days
Varietal composition:
70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc
Fermentation container:
conical oak vat
Length of alcoholic fermentation:
15 days
Fermentation temperature:
75-86 °F
Maceration technique:
Punchdown
Malolactic fermentation:
Full
Fining agent:
no fining
Type of aging container:
Barriques
Size of aging container:
225 hl
Type of oak:
French
Length of aging before bottling:
16 months
Age of Aging Container:
50%new oak, 50% second use
Length of bottle aging:
6 months
Total SO2
74
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Analytical Data
pH level:
3.5
Acidity:
5.54 g/L
Alcohol:
14.5 %
Dry extract:
32.6 g/L
Total SO2
74
Residual sugar:
0.8 g/L
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Wine Production

The three varieties are harvested together on the same day, creating a blend that spontaneously ferments in small oak truncated cone vats with manual punching down and long maceration with indigenous yeast. This wine is aged for 16 months in oak barriques prior to bottling.

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About the Vineyard

L'Alberello (head-pruned) is the way the vineyards are trained. It is a vineyard of 2 hectares trained in the traditional “settonce” formation, such that each vine is equidistant from the others surrounding it. This vineyard features mainly clay and is run according to the criteria of organic farming with a maximum production of 1 kg of grapes per vine. Harvesting and other works on the vines are done manually.