Whether championing native grape varieties, pioneering ancient vine-training systems, or fermenting in tinelli, Grattamacco has found its own way of making wines with a distinctive sense of place, explains Susan Hulme MW.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Do not follow where a path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” This could be the motto of Grattamacco, one of the leading wine producers in the star-studded wine region of Bolgheri. Grattamacco is known for going its own way and doing things very differently from the rest. It has always seen itself as a pioneer and innovator, pushing boundaries. It planted its first vineyards in 1977 (second in the region after Tenuta San Guido). Unlike many vineyards in Bolgheri that were planted at low altitude, Grattamacco was intent on exploring the potential of the Bolgheri hills so planted its vineyards at an altitude of more than 330ft (100m), which at the time was considered very high and carried the risk that the grapes would not ripen. In 2015, it went even higher when it planted its Casavecchia vineyard at 660ft (200m).
It was the first in Bolgheri to adopt the alberello training system. Alberello (“little tree”) is an ancient head-pruned way of vine training. This training system not only helped it produce its best wines, but its example led to the use of alberello being incorporated into the Bolgheri DOC regulations when they were established in 1994. Other firsts include being, in the same year, the first to produce the DOC’s first Bolgheri Rosso. In 1997, it was the first Bolgheri estate to be certified organic, and it has always taken a sustainable approach to the life of the estate.
Swimming against the tide is second nature for it; while Bolgheri made its name growing international grape varieties, Grattamacco has always championed two native Tuscan grape varieties, Sangiovese and Vermentino, in its top cuvées. It was the first to plant Vermentino in Bolgheri in 1986. Vermentino is now super-trendy in the region and is considered to produce some of the highest-quality white wine in Bolgheri. The release this year of the 2024 vintage of Grattamacco Bianco marks the 40th anniversary of this wine. Originally made from Trebbiano, it was later blended with Vermentino before finally becoming a varietal Vermentino in 2001.
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Over the past two years, I have attended three historic vertical tastings of Grattamacco wines, including one at the estate in Bolgheri, and what strikes me most is how this restless and continual desire to innovate and experiment is resulting in ever more refined and transparent wines with a strong sense of individuality. Not surprisingly perhaps, Luca Marrone, the chief winemaker since 2003, was deeply influenced by the legendary Tuscan winemaker Giulio Gambelli. He believes in a low-interventionist approach that allows the vineyards to express their identities. To maximize the expression of their terroirs, Marrone ferments the flagship red wine, Grattamacco Rosso Bolgheri Superiore, in a very different way from anyone else—in tinelli, 700-liter, open oak vats that have a truncated cone shape. Marrone believes this is unique in Italy.
In order to express a strong sense of identity, however, you have to have a special place to begin with. In this respect, Grattamacco’ s choice of vineyards has been very wise. The Casavecchia and Grattamacco vineyards are surrounded by dense woods. “Our most important neighbors are the forests” says Marrone. “They keep the cool, mild temperature for longer, [and somehow] they contribute floral and herbal notes to the wine.”
The Grattamacco vineyards have a distinctive white-clay soil, rich in sodium, which is the result of the evaporation of a saltwater lake more than 5 million years ago. This special soil absorbs and retains water but gives it back to the vines when needed. This helps to compensate for vintage variations and encourages a balanced ripening. Casavecchia shares the same white-clay soil, but due to the altitude it includes a proportion of quartz and flysch. The latter is a stratified marine clay (calcareous marl), resulting from turbulence under the sea millions of years ago when mountains were formed. Flysch only occurs at these altitudes. Casavecchia is on average 1.8°F (1°C) cooler in September than Grattamacco and is also much more affected by cold winds at vintage time, which fortunately allows ripening to slow. This often allows the vintage to commence as late as October 10, instead of the end of September. This longer ripening period is a precious gift, allowing the fruit to ripen in an unhurried manner and accumulate all the necessary elements for the best-quality grapes. “A 1°C difference in temperature doesn’t sound like much,” remarks Marrone, “but somehow the vines are affected. The most important difference is probably the wind and ventilation in this vineyard.” The result, according to Marrone, is that the grapes grown at Casavecchia are fruitier, sweeter, and produce a rounder mid-palate in the wines. When these wines are blended with the more savory, mineral, and vertical wines produced from the Grattamacco vineyard, the balance is something special.
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The alberello training system also helps. Vines are trained low in a goblet shape, and the leaves form a protective shade for the grapes, not only shielding them from sunburn but also retaining valuable moisture within the canopy. This is particularly useful in hot climates and has been helpful in the recent run of hot, dry vintages.
Innovation and improvement
In my three recent tastings going back to the 1990s, it is the younger wines that have impressed me the most. I believe they have got better and better, despite the hotter, drier, and more extreme vintages. I asked Marrone what fine-tuning and refinements they’d had to make to produce wines of more finesse against this challenging background. In past vintages, they believed that their wines, with high acidity and low pH, required extra alcohol (sometimes even going as high as 15%) to make them more balanced, but they do not believe that anymore. They now pick the grapes at a lower potential alcohol.
Since the 2015 vintage, they have used increasing proportions of Casavecchia fruit in their best wines. According to Marrone, “This has helped a lot in the past few years. All the best grapes we picked in 2018 were from Casavecchia.” At a tasting in London in July 2024, including seven vintages of Grattamacco Rosso Superiore (1990, 1998, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2018, and 2022), I felt that the 2018 showed a dramatic leap forward in quality. The tannins were much, much finer. It turns out that, in this vintage, 50% of the fruit was from Casavecchia. Marrone remarked, “The tannins were already ripe in the grapes, and they didn’t need much improvement in the winery.” Also in 2018, they decreased the proportion of new oak and shortened the overall time in oak, resulting in wonderfully pared-down, more transparent wines.
The tasting of five vintages of Grattamacco Bianco at the same event (2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and 2023) confirmed my opinion that the younger wines were getting better. While the older vintages had their charm and appeal, there was a noticeable increase in quality and finesse with the younger wines, particularly remarkable in 2021. Marrone explained that they ceased cryomaceration in 2021, no longer aging on the skins at cold temperatures to extract more aromas and flavors. “The main difference now is that the wine is less oxidative, and crisper and fresher. We realized we did not need that kind of extraction. We press at gentle pressures, to help keep the pH very low and the acidity very high, so the wines can express their verticality.”
As for their red wines, for Grattamacco Bianco they have also reduced the proportion of new oak, down from 20% to 10%. Instead of using only barriques, they also use larger oak tonneaux (300- and 500-liter), so the oak effect is further reduced. Another very important difference is that they try to keep the wine on lees up to the day of bottling. They even cold-stabilize on the lees, whereas in the past they would take the wine off the lees some time before stabilizing and bottling. Keeping the wines on lees for so long also helps make the wine brighter and fresher, with fewer oxidative elements.
The result of this almost restless innovation and experimentation is that Grattamacco is producing wines not only with even more finesse, energy, and vitality but also with a greater transparency, which allows us to see more clearly the distinctive fingerprint of place.
Tasting
GRATTAMACCO ROSSO
1990 Grattamacco Vino da Tavola di Castagneto (12.5% ABV)
50% Sangiovese, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon; aged 12 months in barrique. As the Bolgheri DOC for red wines was created only in 1994, this wine was released as a vino da tavola. The color is showing some evolution, not surprisingly, but still retains a dark garnet core. The aromas are diffuse and gentle now, with a touch of smoke, spice, and faded, dark bramble fruit and a little touch of violet.
Surprisingly, on the palate there is still plenty of nervy acidity and refreshment, combined with fine, silty-textured tannins and a savory saltiness on the finish. There is a lovely weight and texture to the wine, which is rather slender yet with good flavor intensity and an unforced, seamless elegance. The 1990 Grattamacco is a fully mature, graceful wine with freshness and harmony. 2025–27. | 92
1998 Grattamacco Bolgheri Rosso Superiore DOC (13.5% ABV)
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 15% Sangiovese; aged 22 months in barrique. According to Luca Marrone, “The 1998 was very undervalued compared to 1997 and 1999, but the ’98 has maintained its verticality.”
The nose shows some evolution, with dark, smoky notes dominating the aromas, alongside black licorice, a touch of tar, and woodsmoke. These aromas are reflected on the palate, with licorice, a little burned toast, and some crunchy green-herb and just-ripe bramble flavors. It is still very fresh and bright on the palate, with juicy acidity and grippy, dark, blackberry fruit. The tannins are firm, chewy, and a little rustic in style, but the wine faithfully reflects the period it was made and the wine’s history. An unadorned, authentic expression, with a bright and brambly exuberance. 2024–30. | 90
2005 Grattamacco Bolgheri Rosso Superiore DOC (13.5% ABV)
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Sangiovese; aged 18 months in barrique. Luca Marrone became Grattamacco’s chief winemaker in 2003 and remembers the 2005 as his first, wet vintage. A youthful ruby in color, with some very appealing, bright red berry and blackcurrant fruit on the nose, mixed with cream and sweet spice. On the palate, there is still some dark blackberry fruit. The tannins are more refined than earlier vintages and feel riper, but they are still quite firm and sinewy. It feels as if there was more attention to detail in terms of grape selection. Marrone says there was also more selection of the various tinelli (oak vats). The overall impression is of a cool and grippy wine, reflecting the vintage, but with sunny patches of bright fruit, wrapped in a firmly elegant structure. The 2005 had four months fewer in wood than the previous vintages and is, I feel, all the better for it. 2024–30. | 94
2009 Grattamacco Bolgheri Rosso Superiore DOC (14% ABV)
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 15% Sangiovese; aged 18 months in barrique and bottled in July 2011. In 2009, a wet spring was followed by hot, dry conditions for most of the season, with August having several heat spikes. In general, the wines are richer, with high alcohol, and have a dark, ripe fruit style.
This Grattamacco has classic 2009 vintage aromas of sun-dried fruit, raisin, and a touch of brown sugar, which contrast with tomato leaf and red- and green-fruit aromas. On the palate, it is smooth, round, creamy, and richer than the previous vintages in this tasting.
Ripe dark fruit, even a touch overripe, contrasts with some green notes on the palate. There is a slight mismatch between super-ripe and green flavors, but overall it is a really well-made example of the 2009 vintage, and it is fascinating to see the way in which the wine reflects the vintage variations of a wet spring and a hot dry summer. | 93
2012 Grattamacco Bolgheri Rosso Superiore DOC (14% ABV)
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 15% Sangiovese; aged 18 months in barrique and bottled in July 2014. Marrone comments of the 2012 vintage, “It was a hot and dry season, but the guys in the vineyard performed miracles. What saved 2012 was the rain that we had in September.” This wine has smoky, dark-fruited notes, but there is also plenty of exuberant blackcurrant fruit. There is a touch of exotic spice, and a super-ripe dried blueberry note. Firm tannins give a quite austere upright firmness to the wine, with a touch of green herb or balsamic notes, which is a typical characteristic of Grattamacco terroir. This is a firm, upright, chewy modern style but with plenty of ripe fruit, which makes for an assertive, bright, and bustling wine. | 94
2018 Grattamacco Bolgheri Rosso Superiore DOC (14.5% ABV)
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 15% Sangiovese 15%; aged 18 months in barrique and bottled in July 2020. It was very hot in summer 2018, then very cool after September 1. The 2018 has a distinctive personality. It is a youthful, blue-toned ruby color. On the nose, there is a leafy, green-herb note and ripe blackberry and dark raspberry aromas. The aromas are bright, precise, and very striking, almost Cabernet Franc-like: crisp and clear, with green-red fruit like rhubarb. With air, the nose becomes sweeter, with creamy top notes of oak spice and vanilla, but it is persistently leafy on the palate, with red-berried fruit, green pepper, and green-herb flavors intertwined with some riper blackcurrant flavors. What I love so much and what really sets this wine apart, is a much finer quality to the texture of the tannins. They are like fine sand. This extra finesse is attributed to the increased proportion (50%) of fruit from the higher-altitude Casavecchia vineyard. The finish is savory, long, lingering, and very impressive. 2024–36. | 96
2021 Grattamacco Bolgheri Rosso Superiore DOC (14.5% ABV)
“What I remember was that there were huge differences in temperature between night and day—unusual for Bolgheri. In 2021, there was a cold wind from the north: This is a kind of gift,” commented Marrone on the exceptional 2021 vintage. The wine has a magenta-toned, youthful color. The nose is elegantly seductive, with cedar, blackcurrant, cream, and sweet spice. These qualities reappear on the palate, with a little note of wild herb or Mediterranean macchia, and a crushed-chalk savoriness. There is a wonderful weight and texture to this wine. It is super-soft and silky on the palate and full of concentrated flavors without being heavy. A wine of weightlessness, ease, and transparency. It is dominated not by any of its grape varieties but more by of a sense of place: the Grattamacco terroir. It has lovely vivacious acidity and very fine, beautifully integrated tannins. A wine of exquisite grace and harmony. 2027–45. | 97
2022 Grattamacco Bolgheri Rosso Superiore DOC (14.5% ABV)
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 15% Sangiovese. The 2022 Grattamacco has a softly effusive, gentle nose. It is complex, with ever-changing notes of flowers, fruit, and spice revealing themselves alternately but still a little unformed and young at present. The aromas are bright and clear, with top notes of spice and incisive blackcurrant, raspberry, and red plum. There is a firm, leafy quality to the wine, but with a refined, dry edge to the tannins. The tannins are like fine silt in texture, but mouth-filling and powerful. They give the wine a chewy, firm, assertive style, and it has less of a green herbal character than in 2018. The 2022 is clearly still very young at this tasting in 2024 and needs a year or two in bottle before it could be approached with the enjoyment it seems sure to give from then. The overall impression is characterful, firm, and bright. Drink now to 2040. | 95
GRATTAMACCO BIANCO
These wines are produced from the oldest Vermentino vines in Bolgheri. They are now 40 years old, having been planted by Grattamacco as early as 1986. Up to one third of the wine was matured in oak barrels and two thirds in stainless-steel tanks, with aging of between 6 and 8 months.
2013 Grattamacco Bolgheri DOC Vermentino (14% ABV)
100% Vermentino; one third aged 7 months in oak, bottled in June 2014. This 2013 is deep gold in color but with a bright green tone. The nose is softly honeyed with beeswax notes. The aromas are diffuse, with gentle flower and honeysuckle notes, but they remain persistent and develop into barley-sugar and white-flower notes on standing. On the palate, the wine is soft, caressing, round, and fruity, with a touch of saltiness on the finish. The 2013 is holding well for its age but losing a little of its incisive edge. It is beginning to look a touch fragile but is beautifully fragrant and harmonious. Now to 2028. | 92
2016 Grattamacco Bolgheri DOC Vermentino (14% ABV)
100% Vermentino; one third aged 8 months in oak, bottled in May 2017. According to Marrone, “2016 had quite a hot summer but with rains at the perfect time.” A bright, lively, and surprisingly youthful lemon-green color. On the nose, it has clean, waxy, lanolin notes, with a touch of honey and petrol. It changes quickly in the glass to sweet, aromatic lemon. On the palate, it is very fresh and elegant, but the acidity fades slightly on the incisive salty/savory finish. Some elements have a striking, Riesling-like personality, which is quite intriguing. Now to 2032. | 94
2019 Grattamacco Bolgheri DOC Vermentino (14.5% ABV)
100% Vermentino; one third aged 8 months in oak, bottled in May 2020. Between 2016 and 2019, Grattamacco reduced the proportion of new oak from 20% to 10%. In 2019, there was a natural dehydration of the berries due to later picking. The 2019 is a taut, bright, harmonious, and honeyed wine. It is bright, pale green-gold in color. The nose has more open floral notes, and at this stage it is less waxy, with no obvious petrol notes but, rather, a touch of wild meadow flowers and honey. It has beautifully poised, clear, and bright aromas. On the palate, it is lively and tangy, with a long savory/salty finish and a gently caressing texture. A lovely wine and one of the best examples of Vermentino I have tasted. Now to 2036. | 96
2021 Grattamacco Bolgheri DOC Vermentino (14.5% ABV)
100% Vermentino; one third aged 8 months in oak, bottled in June 2022. This is a landmark vintage for Grattamacco. It is also the year they stopped using cryoextraction for the white wine. According to Marrone, “The 2021 is a good example of what we are trying to achieve in this wine.” A pale lemon in color, much paler than the 2019. The nose opens in the glass to top notes of pure beeswax with a touch of acacia honey and ripe green fruit like green apple skins. The general feel of this wine is cooler and more transparent. The overall impression is clean, pure, and delicate, with much greener but ripe fruit notes, such as sweet lime and quince, with a touch of green olive. On the palate, there is a wonderful texture. The 2021 is super-silky, with a satin-like texture and a salty, mouthwatering finish and very long flavors. This wine has a lovely harmony and was the star of the tasting. A modern classic. Now to 2036. | 97
2023 Grattamacco Bolgheri DOC Vermentino (14% ABV)
100% Vermentino; one third aged 8 months in oak, bottled in June 2024. This fruit for this wine had some selective late picking. Soft, round, very immediate, and charming. It reminds me a little of the gentle qualities of the 2013. A very pale lime in color. On the nose, it is delicate, with just-ripe green-apple fruit, a little yellow fruit, and a touch of beeswax and honeycomb. On the palate, there is a lovely, harmonious texture and weight. A medium-bodied, beautifully composed wine, very appealing, with just-ripe green flavors. Still very young, with more complexity to come. 2027–37. | 96
