Orders are available for pick-up at Restaurant Nicholas at 160 Route 35 South Red Bank, NJ 07701 during the following times:
Monday: 9:30-3:30; Tuesday – Friday: 9:15am – 9:00pm; Saturday: 11:00am – 9:00pm; Sunday: Closed
$119.00 $84.00
Founded in 1977, and acquired by the Tipa Bertarelli Family in 2002, Grattamacco was one of first the two wineries in Bolgheri. A region typically known for Cabernet and Merlot, Grattamacco sets itself apart from surrounding wineries with its winemaking practices using 15% Sangiovese to impart quality and elegance in its wines. Grattamacco was the first winery in Bolgheri to use Sangiovese because of its high altitude despite its proximity to the coast.
This move may have seemed risky at the time, but the results are impossible to argue. The wines of Grattamacco are now mentioned in the same sentence as Ornellaia and Sassacaia – and a lot of the things I read, people prefer Grattamacco’s wines (at least in their youth). They are extraordinary examples of what the SuperTuscan category can bring.
In the 2019 vintage, the Superiore was a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 15% Sangiovese. Unsurprisingly, this beautiful wine is accompanied by two separate 97-point scores (the highest ever) from two major publications, just to give you a sense of what you’re working with. It was also the #12 wine of the year from Wine Spectator in their annual Top 100 report. It’s an aromatic and powerful blend with with notes of small, fully ripe red fruits, accompanied Mediterranean spices and minerality. It displays a remarkable freshness – and is refined and well-balanced with fine and enveloping tannins. All of this indicates that this beauty has a long life ahead. This is a collector’s dream.
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97 Points (#12 Wine of the Year), Wine Spectator
Dense and smooth, featuring black cherry, blackberry, plum, iron, licorice and menthol aromas and flavors. Fresh and featuring a spine of tannins, this finishes on the compact side for now. Shows balance, so be patient. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese. Best from 2025.
97 Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
The 2019 Bolgheri Superiore Grattamacco (a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 15% Sangiovese) is a real beauty and shows very nicely today based on advancing vine age alone. Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah vines show great results after seven years, whereas Merlot and Sangiovese vines need a few more years before they start to show that extra degree of complexity, the winemaking team tells me. This is a complete and beautifully balanced wine that shows soft extraction and especially sweet tannins. It fermented in truncated conical oak vats and finished in barrique for 18 months.
96 Points, Decanter
Grattamacco is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 15% Sangiovese, which certainly contributes to the fresher style of this wine. The whole picture is complete only when understanding that the vineyards used for this blend are among the highest of the appellation. According to winemaker Luca Marrone, in 2019 the ripening of the grapes was slow and the harvests took place on 4 October. Grattamacco shines for its signature leafy, Mediterranean forest aromas, with assertive kiwi peel, restrained cassis, bell pepper and chocolate flavours. The attack is velvety, youthful and firm, less easy-going compared to Alberello but more tight-knit and extremely elegant – the Sangiovese grapes seem to emphasise the red freshness of the fruit. The length is amazing.
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WS #4 2019 Wine of the Year, 96 Points, Wine Spectator
2016 was an incredibly special year in Napa Valley. It was essentially the 5th straight vintage of near perfect-conditions and a lot of the big boys produced some of their biggest, most elegant Cabernets to date. Groth’s was still one of the standouts in any group, a deeply concentrated, weighty Cab with sappy, juicy fruit and a carefully intertwined tannic structure. Absolutely gorgeous.
Winemaker Kian Tavakoli (Opus One, Clos du Val) continues to excel even while others struggle. In 2017, he still managed to deliver a beautiful and opulent Napa Valley Cabernet that’s both dark and juicy. The wine hails from both Coombsville and Rutherford, giving it distinct characteristics and a lot of drive. Deep ruby to the rim with excellent concentration, notes of Bing cherries, raspberry pie and hints of vanilla. On the palate, big wonderfully jammy fruit with young but impressive tannins and great length. The finish leaves notes of black cherry, and baked blueberry pie. Fantastic Napa value.
93 Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate – 93 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
“Vignon’s 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape delivers even more than I hoped for based on a previous sample. Hints of garrigue, roses, cherries and raspberries appear on the nose, while the palate is full-bodied, silky and long, with an intense, almost briny finish. The assemblage is 50% Grenache, 10% each Mourvèdre and Syrah, plus smaller proportions of seven other permitted varieties, while the élevage includes foudres, demi-muids, concrete and wooden tanks, plus terracotta amphorae.”
95 Points, Jeb Dunnuck – 95 Points, Lisa Perotti-Brown
The oft 100-point winemaker, Jayson Woodbridge had this to say when tasting his 2021 ‘Stargazing’ Sonoma Pinot: “The wine is vibrant and complex with subtle dark fruits and berries, grandmother’s cherry pie, minerals, and a slight touch of rain-soaked earth, intertwined with a balance and very pleasing easy-going luxury. Should have been priced higher but what the hell.” I have no doubt this clerical error will be addressed in the vintages moving forward. But for now, this is a cult Pinot for under $100/bottle.
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