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Petrolo - Galatrona 2011
Tasting note
This is a phenomenal pure merlot with blueberries, raspberries and hints of milk
chocolate. Some nutmeg, too. Full body with very fine yet chewy tannins and
a long, intense finish. Reminds me of the amazing 1998. Best ever from here.
Needs another four or five years of bottle age to soften.
Vinification
This limited production permits the grapeskins
to achieve highly concentrated levels
of anthocyanins and tannin, already sweetened
due to the polymerization of the plant.
The maceration on the skins lasts for 14
days. After the malolactic fermentation that
takes place in French barrels of 225 liters,
the wine is kept in new French oak barriques
for 18 months.
Estate
Petrolo is located in Mercatale Valdarno, in
the center of the triangle made by Florence,
Siena and Arezzo. There are no notable wine
estates nearby, but with the romance and poetry
that wine brings, Petrolo exemplifies a
theme seen more and more in Tuscany: little
pockets, special places where extraordinary
and singular wines can be made. This Estate
was bought by the Bazzocchi family in
the 1940s and since the mid 80s has been
headed by Lucia Bazzocchi Sanjust with the
assistance of her son Luca who is now managing
the winery. The technical agronomist
is Carlo Nesterini, the oenologist is Stefano
Guidi and since June 2002, Carlo Ferrini has
been collaborating on agricultural and vinification
issues.
Vineyard
The vines for Galatrona were all planted in
the early 1990s. The yield per plant is notably
restricted, with the Petrolo estate as a whole
producing 65,000 bottles (5,000 cases) from
140,000 plants - less than half a bottle per
plant. The strict pruning permits a complete
grape maturation to take place.