2019 Bolgheri Rosso, Grattamacco, Tuscany, Italy
£26.95, bbr.com; £24.50, decvin.com
The great red wines of Bolgheri, situated around the village of Castagneto Carducci on the Livorno coast, qualify as rare but wholly indulgent guilty pleasures. Absurdly expensive, ridiculously hedonistic and uncommonly luxurious, iconic labels Ornellaia and Sassicaia bounce around the £200-mark and noted vintages sky-rocket from there. There are two properties in this region that allow you to side-step the fiscal stress afforded by the aforementioned superstars – Tenuta Sette Cieli (from swig.co.uk), which is standing on the brink of stardom, as its name suggests, and my featured Grattamacco.
Sette Cieli’s wines are high-altitude, chiselled, age-worthy and mesmerising, made with uncompromising standards, and I am a huge fan. They are also stunning value, in particular Indaco. Grattamacco’s releases come from the more fertile soils, halfway down the hill from Sette Cieli, closer to the Med, and this setting brings with it plushness, opulence and early-drinking joy. Made from 50% cabernet sauvignon, 20% cabernet franc, 20% merlot and 10% sangiovese, this is a true Super-Tuscan blend and it is baffling just how approachable and delicious the wine is already. It bursts with heady, black fruit and discreet herb and spice notes. The oak, alcohol and tannin all sit in the background giving This stunning value red bursts gives a truly classy Bolgheri experience at around a tenth of the price of the big guns..
Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition’s Communicator of the Year (matthewjukes.com).