93 points

2018 Bibi Graetz Testamatta Rosso

Stephen Brook, Decanter, April 2022

“The 2018 vintage resulted in elegant but relatively light wines, and cool nights kept them fresh. The subdued red fruit nose has finesse and poise, while the attack is lively and relatively forward. This is no blockbuster but it shows fine acidity and concentration. It may lack some complexity now but it's still youthful. Long. Drinking Window 2023 - 2032”

92 points

2016 Ricasoli Colledilà Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

Stephanie Johnson, Wine & Spirits, April 2020

91 points

2015 Ricasoli Castello di Brolio Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

Stephanie Johnson, Wine & Spirits, April 2020

90 points

2016 Ricasoli Roncicone Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

Stephanie Johnson, Wine & Spirits, April 2020

97 points

2017 Ricasoli Colledilà Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

Nick Stock, James Suckling, July 2020

“The purity of fruit here is stunning with blackberry, blueberry and orange-peel aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied with ultra fine tannins. Racy and focused with precision and polish that is very impressive for the vintage. Drinkable now, but better after 2022.”

96 points

2017 Ricasoli CeniPrimo Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

Nick Stock, James Suckling, July 2020

“This is very perfumed and fruity with cherries, light currants and just a hint of vanilla. It’s medium-bodied with tight, polished and silky tannins and a flavorful finish. Creamy and refined, yet structured. Subtle and very, very long. Drink or hold.”

95 points

2017 Ricasoli Roncicone Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

Nick Stock, James Suckling, July 2020

“This is so perfumed – the red fruit and flowers just jump out of the glass. So aromatic. Full-bodied, yet the precise, fine tannins just melt into the glass and spread wide across the palate. A gorgeous wine. Drink or hold.”

92 points

2017 Ricasoli Brolio Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG

Nick Stock, James Suckling, July 2020

“A fresh, firm 2017 with blackberry, blueberry and dark-chocolate character. It’s medium-to full-bodied with chewy tannins and a fresh, tangy finish. Like the light bitter lemon at the finish. Drink now.”

96+ points

2016 Bibi Graetz Colore Rosso

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate, August 2019

“A blend of Sangiovese (at about 80% of the mix), Canaiolo and Colorino from three far-removed vineyard parcels in different areas of Tuscany, the 2016 Colore is something of a pan-Tuscan wine. This ambitious wine gives voice to three of the region's most important red grape varieties as well as its most diverse territories (Lamole in Chianti Classico, Vincigliata near Florence and Siena province in the southern part of Tuscany). As a result, this is a statement wine with a lot to say to those careful enough to listen. It's important to be attentive to the details, the small berry fruit aromas that intermingle with nuances of spice, granite stone and pressed blue flower. Pure summer cherry is the dominant aroma on first nose, but it slowly disintegrates as the wine takes on more air to reveal those lighter and more delicate aromas at the back. This vintage offers an ideal dose of structure matched against freshness. Bibi Graetz tells me that fruit in 2015 was beautiful, perfect to look at. Fruit in 2016, however, appeared more sculpted with more darkness and weight. On some level, those descriptions also apply to the character of these two gorgeous back-to-back vintages. Some 6,000 bottles were made.”

95+ points

2016 Ricasoli Roncicone Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate, September 2019

“Here is a new exciting wine from Francesco Ricasoli that represents the hands-on results of a long zoning and research project underway at this estate to better understand the potential of each single vineyard within the greater Castello di Brolio property. The 2016 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Castello di Brolio Roncicone is a soft and velvety expression with a long bouquet of dark and purple fruit, tilled earth, spice and tobacco. The wine offers volume, grit and a more accessible or sweet tannin. This is a great steak wine made from 100% Sangiovese that was aged in 500-liter tonneaux (with 30% new oak and 70% used barrel). Some 6,000 bottles were made. This vineyard site is rich in marine fossils.”

93+ points

2015 Ricasoli Castello di Brolio Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate, October 2018

“The 2015 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Castello di Brolio takes a few minutes to open and settle in the glass. The bouquet here is redolent of pressed cherry and dried blackberry with underbrush, dark spice, forest floor and even a touch of wild porcino mushroom. The mouthfeel is smooth and loosely textured, which gives the wine an accessible and immediate personality. These vineyard sites in Gaiole in Chianti are characterized by crushed alberese rock soils. These unique growing conditions always add to the focus and the sharpness of the aromas. This wine is a blend of 90% Sangiovese with 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot. Some 40,000 bottles were made.”

97 points

2015 Bibi Graetz Colore Rosso

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate, September 2018

“The 2015 Colore is a breakthrough wine for Bibi Graetz and his unique approach to winemaking and fruit sourcing. Remember, this renegade Tuscan vintner dedicates much of his intellectual effort to discovering the ancient vines and vineyards he wants to farm. He is like a high level garagiste who does not pretend to limit his fruit selection to vines under his direct ownership. This affords a level of versatility and range that is not common to the many family-owned estates of Italian viticulture that focus their efforts on their own land. Colore is a blend of equal parts Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino from three sites (Lamole, Vincigliata and Siena). The 2013 and 2014 vintages were skipped, and Bibi Graetz has moved forward directly to 2015. I tasted this wine from four bottles: one opened the previous day at lunch, one opened the night before, one opened that morning and one opened just before I poured the sample into may glass. This approach awarded an interesting panoramic view of the wine's evolution, but in truth, it did not change as much as you might think. I mean this in a positive way, because the wine in no way tasted flat or oxidative. Of course, the recently opened bottles showed some nervous and rigid qualities, whereas the bottles that had been open longer were softer, more expressive and more fleshed out. Colore offers dark and determined quality of fruit with layered tones of ripe cherry, dried blackberry, spice and grilled herb. Elegant mineral tones also appear. This is a unique wine with a personality that marries a wild side to a sophisticated one. This is a singular Tuscan red”

96 points

2019 Bibi Graetz Colore Rosso

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate, August 2021

“Dressed for a party, the Bibi Graetz 2019 Colore celebrates the estate's 20th anniversary with a special commemorative (2000-2019) bottle. This vintage of Colore is 100% Sangiovese (the small part of Colorino in the blend we saw last year has been removed) because Bibi thought the Sangiovese elegant enough to stand alone. Fruit comes from three vineyard sites with 70-, 80- and 90-year-old vines, respectively. The wine offers big intensity and beautifully lifted aromas and more textural support than we saw in the slightly thinner 2018 vintage. The bouquet reveals balsam herb, cassis, pressed rose, garden mint and crushed stone. Fruit from the southern-most site, Poggio Matto in Casciano del Murlo (in the province of Siena), was blended in at a greater percentage to help build the structure and momentum of this cellar-worthy wine.”

96 points

2016 Ricasoli CeniPrimo Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate, September 2019

“This is the third of the single-vineyard Gran Selezione wines now being offered by Barone Ricasoli. Of the three, the 2016 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Castello di Brolio CeniPrimo is my favorite. This is also 100% Sangiovese and 6,000 bottles were made. The bouquet is bright and direct with a slightly wild or untamed side. I picked up notes of crushed white pepper and rosemary essence. You also get a distinct mineral note of slate or black rock. All this tops off a plummy fruit core in this pretty wine. Pair it with a Tuscan sausage and bean dish.”

96 points

2016 Bibi Graetz Testamatta Rosso

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate, September 2018

“This wine will be released in March 2019. The 2016 Testamatta represents a blend of fruit from old vines spread across the various vineyard holdings farmed by Bibi Graetz in both the Siena and Firenze provinces of Tuscany. These holdings include plots in Vincigliata (home base to Bibi Graetz and his family just outside of Florence), Lamole, Londa, Montefili and Siena. Many of the vines used here are 80 years old or more, and each site represents a cultural and enological patrimony that was specifically selected for its individual character or uniqueness. There is an unescapable metaphor in the many primary colors that blend or bleed into each other to form a single piece of art that is depicted on the front label of this handsome bottle. Testamatta reaches impeccable harmony in similar fashion. I tasted this wine on three separate occasions and was blown away each time. There is a seductively wild side to the wine that comes forth with chiseled intensity. Dark fruit, spice, tar, licorice and toasted spice make for a beautifully elegant bouquet. The mouthfeel remains mid-weight in approach, with polished tannins and a tightly knit texture that should relax and grow in volume as the wine evolves in the bottle. Some 60,000 bottles were made.”

95 points

2016 Ricasoli Colledilà Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate, September 2019

“The 2016 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Colledilà (100% Sangiovese) delivers a tight and focused bouquet that is distinguished by dark fruit aromas, cherry and tart cassis with spice, wild rose and sweet earth at the back. The wine is fresh and firm on the palate, however, it is also immediate in character, meaning that you don't need to wait too much longer to pop the cork. Like the other wines from Barone Ricasoli, the intensity and the brawn of the mouthfeel has been intentionally toned down to give this wine a more elegant and light approach, a nice accompaniment to some delicate charcuterie. Some 27,000 bottles were made.”

94 points

2019 Bibi Graetz Testamatta Rosso

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate, August 2021

“A pure expression of Sangiovese, the Bibi Graetz 2019 Testamatta is a wine in constant evolution. Bibi has added 17 more hectares of vineyard to the program, with 12 hectares in Fiesole (north of Florence) and 5 hectares in San Donato in Colle (south of Florence) with 70-year-old vines. The base of the wine sees fruit from old vines planted in the 1950s in the cool-climate Lamole subzone of Chianti Classico. These new terroirs bring a lot more aromatic nuance and complexity to the wine with perfumed blue flower, candied orange peel, wet earth and plumy black fruit. White Alberese soils add a strong chalky mineral signature to the finish of this elegantly streamlined and linear Tuscan red.”

94 points

2017 Ricasoli Colledilà Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate, April 2021

“The Barone Ricasoli 2017 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Colledilà sources its fruit from a site at 380 meters in elevation called Monte Morello with calcareous alberese soils. These conditions give extra focus and linearity to the wine with layered aromas of crushed stone and spice. The wine is equally fruity with blackberry, wild cherry and crushed rose petal. Colledilà is a classic and lasting expression from Gaiole in Chianti.”

94 points

2017 Ricasoli CeniPrimo Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate, April 2021

“Presenting an extremely elegant mid-weight style, the Barone Ricasoli 2017 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Castello di Brolio CeniPrimo dances across the senses with grace and softness despite any preconceptions concerning this hot, not always easy vintage. The wine opens beautifully in the glass and tastes even better the next day. Delicate forest berry, cassis, dried herbs and crushed flowers give the wine a lot of material that is presented to the senses in careful stages.”

94 points

2018 Bibi Graetz Testamatta Rosso

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate, August 2020

“The 2018 Testamatta shows elegant Sangiovese purity and transparency, starting with delicate wild berry and blueberry tones and finishing long with pretty accents of crushed limestone and a touch of campfire ash. In the glass, the wine is radiant and vivid with a luminous ruby or garnet color. Oak use is reduced to a bare minimum, with barrels that are up to their 16th year of use. The older they are, the better, Bibi explains. As the wine opens in the glass, it presents pretty lilac and violet. This wine represents a blend of fruit from various sites (all with old vines that are farmed organically) across the region of Tuscany. The northern-most sites close to Florence tend to add the floral notes that are so characteristic of this cool vintage (which saw a bit more rain than average and extra work in the vineyards to kept these vines healthy). I visited the vineyards with Bibi in 2018 and remember how beautiful the grapes appeared on the vines. Much of the fruit used here comes from the Vigna del Cancello in Casciano del Murlo, which is midway between Siena and Montalcino. These southern sites give the wine its backbone and tannins. Bibi Graetz tells me that he struggled to create the blend for this 60,000-bottle release. He decided on a final blend, only to change his mind and re-blend two and a half months later. His second stab was specifically aimed at capturing finesse and softening the wine's tannic imprint. Indeed, the wine ultimately offers more in length (with fresh fruit flavors and bright acidity) than it does in power or mid-palate. The finish is silky, long and very fine.”