Petrolo Galatrona 2016 (96 W&S)
“Galatrona leads an impressive set of wines from Luca Sanjust in the moderate 2016 growing season. Pure merlot from a 25-acre plot of vines planted in the 1990s, it unfolds with beautiful scents of dewy violets and thyme. The flavors are as precise as the aromas, with fresh acidity highlighting the ripe blue and black fruit tones. The wine aged for 18 months in French oak barriques, about one-third new, developing supple tannins and subtle spice notes. Taut and herb inflected, it’s a merlot for people who think they don’t like merlot.”
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Petrolo
Petrolo Galatrona 2016
Val d'Arno di Sopra DOC
Year after year, Galatrona has quietly been recognized as one of the great wines of Italy and is often referred to as the Petrus of Tuscany. What it truly is, though, is beyond comparison - a wine of utter individuality reflective of the Petrolo estate and its unique location in an all but unknown appellation of Tuscany.
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Petrolo
Val d'Arno di Sopra, Tuscany. Italy
Petrolo is the definition of a cult winery, with an owner and a story that have helped create its legendary status. While the estate's benchmark wine, the Merlot cru Galatrona, deservedly receives fireworks in the press and is part of the history of Tuscany’s quality revolution in the late 1980s and 1990s, the winery's two other standouts, Torrione and Boggina, are an equally thrilling success - Sangiovese from a special and virtually unknown appellation bordering Chianti Classico that today produces wines of distinct regional identity.