Petrolo
Galatrona 2015
Val d'Arno di Sopra
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.
VINEYARD
The vines are planted on clay-rich loam, with shale, marl and sandstone. Clay helps to retain the moisture in the soil, which is particularly useful during the hot, dry, Tuscan summers. The vineyard lies approximately 1000 feet above sea level and has a south-eastern exposure.
The vineyard spans 25 acres, with almost 50,000 plants grown on spurred cordon trellising. The yield per plant is notably restricted (max 2.5 lbs per vine plant), 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. The limited yields permits the grapeskins to achieve highly concentrated levels of anthocyanins and tannin, already sweetened due to the polymerization of the plant.
WINEMAKING
The maceration of the skin lasts more than 20 days. Pump-overs are done manually with considerable care and very frequently to allow the complete extraction from the skins. The malolactic fermentation takes place in barriques, usually starting quickly and with regular development. After the malolactic fermentation the wine ages in new and almost new French oak barriques for approximately 18 months. During this period the wine is left for the first 6 months on the fine lees. After bottling, the wine begins its usual maturation period of about 6 months before release.
TASTING NOTE
Wine of great structure on the palate and widly aromatic on the nose. Intense elegant wine with great structure and complexity, lovely balance between acidity, fruit and tannins. A wine that speaks of Tuscany, and of Petrolo in particular.
Color
Red
Appellation
Val d'Arno di Sopra
Suggested Retail Price
$120.00
Reviews
“Galatrona is one of the best Merlots made in Italy"
Wine Advocate - August 9, 2018 “Galatrona is one of the best Merlots made in Italy (definitely in the top five) and this vintage keeps the banner flying high. The 2015 Galatrona is luscious, soft, soothing and ever-so intense. The wine wraps thickly over the senses and the palate with lasting flavors of dark fruit and spice. Specifically, you get black cherry, pressed blackberry, toasted spice and bitter chocolate or fragrant espresso. The wine shows depth and length, width and soaring heights. It’s young now, so put the bottle at the back of your cellar.”
“Terrific aromas of violets, roses and raspberries"
James Suckling - August 9, 2018 “Terrific aromas of violets, roses and raspberries with hints of strawberries and brown sugar. Full body. Phenomenal layers of focused fruit and polished velvety tannins. This is the Galatrona that everyone has been waiting for. It’s the vintage that shows depth and power yet wonderful finesse and focus. Best ever. Drink from 2023 but already electrifying.”
Reviews
Trade Materials
Other Wines by this Producer
Bòggina C
Val d'Arno di Sopra
Boggina is bottled from the best barrels of Sangiovese produced each year from the Boggina hill, planted in the 1950’s by Luca’s grandfather. Bòggina is the oldest vineyard on the Petrolo estate, and the source of Petrolo’s most prized Sangiovese vines.
Bòggina B
Toscana IGT
Bòggina B is a little bit of Burgundy with a Tuscan twist. The wine is made with 100% Trebbiano Toscano. The clone of the Valdarno has been known for its quality since the 1300s, when it was regularly sent to the popes in Rome and the courts of Florence. Petrolo has been using Trebbiano grapes for its sweet vinsanto for decades, but owner Luca Sanjust decided that the time had come for a tribute to the great whites of Valdarno’s past. The wine is made under the guidance of one of Burgundy’s greats, Mounir Souma of Lucien Le Moine.
Bòggina A
Val d'Arno di Sopra
Every year, Petrolo selects a small lot of Bòggina, a wine made purely from their best Sangiovese grapes, to ferment in amphorae. The choice of amphorae has a historical dimension to get closer to Tuscany's cultural roots, as Terracotta in Tuscany has a history back to the early Etruscan times. The remains of amphorae and other Etruscan relics can be found throughout the Petrolo property, an area that has been settled for thousands of years.
Torrione
Val d'Arno di Sopra
Torrione is made primarily from Sangiovese grapes, both those that come from historic vines of the 1970s and ones more recently planted with high density. The yield per plant is notably restricted, allowing a concentration of all the noble components of the grape, fundamental for the full-bodied character of this wine. The fruit intensity and its black character make it a comparison to Brunello at several times the price.