2019 Petrolo Galatrona (750ml)

Merlot from Tuscany, Italy

B-21 Top Recommendation
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Described as “a gorgeous and sumptuous wine” by Antonio Galloni of Vinous and among the “upper echelons of Tuscan wine” according to Gambero Rosso, Petrolo’s Galatrona is a standout even among its famed Super Tuscan peers, earning its well-deserved reputation vintage over vintage as “Tuscany’s answer to Petrus” according to the Wine Spectator, this offer for three stunning vintages among the best values in the region and simply not to be missed by lovers and collectors of Italy’s best red wines.

Located on a winding hillside road in northwest of Arezzo just outside the Chianti Classico zone, the strikingly beautiful Petrolo estate spans 672 acres of woodlands, olive groves and pristine hillside vineyards, the highest point dominated by the rustic centuries’ old sandstone watchtower for which Galatrona is named. Leaving his career as a successful painter to run his family’s estate 30 years ago, vintner Luca Sanjust had a passion for the great Merlots of Pomerol, fueling the idea of producing a pure Merlot in Tuscany from the low yielding Bordeaux vines that his mother Lucia had first planted on the estate in the late 1980’s and releasing the first Galatrona in 1994 to unanimous critical acclaim. Fermented in concrete vats with indigenous yeasts, the Petrolo Galatrona is aged for 18 to 20 months in a mix of large French oak barrels and barriques about a third new, expertly balancing elegance and immense power in an opulent style reminiscent of Le Pin according to James Suckling who calls it “the Merlot bombshell from Tuscany.” Crafted under legendary consulting enologist Carlo Ferrini, the Wine Advocate’s Monica Larner describes the 99 pt. 2019 Petrolo Galatrona as “soft and luscious, spreading evenly over the palate with elegance and sweeping intensity,” while the 97 pt. 2020 Petrolo Galatrona is “stunning”with all the elements “so impeccably woven together,” according to Antonio Galloni of Vinous, summing it up as “magnificent.” Declared “a tremendous wine by any measure” by critic Galloni, the 98 pt. 2021 Petrolo Galatrona is “totally unputdownable” according to Decanter’s Georgina Hindle “with lots of potential for improvement over ageing” and a lifespan of several decades.

Describing Petrolo as “a jewel of an estate” crafting “some of the most beautiful wines in Tuscany,” Antonio Galloni of Vinous calls the Petrolo Galatrona a “stunning value for the money” priced at a fraction of other highly rated Super Tuscan blends, these recent exceptional vintages already drinking beautifully and promising collectors who stash some away the opportunity to enjoy Petrolo’s elegantly complex and truly gorgeous expression of Tuscan Merlot for years to come.

99JS #65 Top 100

Blackberries and black cherries with lavender and violets on the nose. Full-bodied with velvety, chewy tannins, yet the fruit is very intense with vibrancy and energy. Muscular, yet agile. Pure and poised. A unique definition of merlot in Tuscany. Drink after 2025.

99 points, James Suckling (Sep 2021)

#65 - James Suckling Top 100 of 2021

Alcohol By Volume: 14.0%

#ITPEST19AE

$89.98

Compare At: $99.99

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