Bolgheri Superiore Grattamacco 2022

Looking to the upcoming release, the 2022 Grattamacco pours a more youthful red/purple hue and opens to a more blue-fruited nature at this early stage, with sweetly perfumed aromas of blackberry, violet candies, pressed sage, and fresh earth. The palate is gorgeous and full, with velvety tannins, a youthful plushness of fruit, and its characteristic savory elements highlighting the wine with a long, balanced finish. It’s a very even wine but does show the stress of a hot year with late rains. It feels like the duck on water – graceful and peaceful above water, while underneath it has the structure to go the distance. It’s reminiscent of the 2012, although it seems to have more cushion. Drink date: 2027-2050. (Audrey Frick,jebdunnuck.com,March 18, 2025)