Wine Advisor
Petrolo, Galatrona 2010
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Description
Galatrona is the “Gran-Cru” of Merlot of Petrolo, only made with the grapes from the vineyard of the same name planted between the end of the 80’s and half of the 90’s with low vigor bordeaux clones. The peculiar soil, rich in clay in combination with schist, marl and sandstones, allows the concentration of all the noble components of the grapes, fundamental for the great structure, elegance, balance and persistence wanted for this wine.
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
A massive expression of Merlot, the 2010 Galatrona is heaven-sent. The layers are infinite here spanning dark fruit, spice and chocolate. I fall in love with this wine year after year. The mouth is caressed with stirring complexity and fine tannins that feel silky and smooth. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2030. Luca Sanjust has embarked on a whole slew of new projects at his beautiful estate located in the southeast part of Chianti, near the Chianti Classico boarder. His first priority is returning to a cru-specific philosophy. He sees his top wine, for example, less as an expression of Merlot than an expression of the Galatrona single-vineyard. The Boggina site is planted to Sangiovese, and Luca explains that this spectacular vineyard has existed since the 1700s. He has two new wines from this site (one aged in amphora and one aged in barrel) that symbolize two voices from a single site. Importer: Vintus; www.vintuswines.com
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
The 2010 Galatrona seems to be going through a closed phase at the moment, or perhaps the bottle we opened was not exemplary. The wine boasts an inky dark appearance with sweet aromas of red rose and sweet cherry. You need to swirl your glass with great vigor to dig down deeper. As you do, it slowly releases tones of toasted nut, exotic spice and dark leather. Overall, the bouquet offers less intensity (especially compared to the exuberant, hot vintages 2011 and 2012 tasted prior to this wine in our vertical tasting). The wine ends with integrated fruit flavors and a pretty point of fresh acidity.
About the Producer
The vineyards of Château Perrault span a total of 31 hectares, bordering the southeast of Chianti Classico. The vineyards are located on slopes between 250 and 450 meters above sea level, with moderately loose soils mixed with rocks typical of the Chianti region, such as marl, sandstone and shale. In order to produce unique wines, the winery grows Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon according to the characteristics of the terroir. In terms of vineyard management, Perrault Winery attaches great importance to the protection of ecological balance and biodiversity. The harmonious coexistence of vines, grasses, olive trees and woods not only protects the natural environment, but also creates a favorable growth environment for grapes. At the same time, the winery also strictly controls the grape production. The planting density of each hectare of vineyards is about 5,500 grapes, and the yield per hectare is only 2,000-2,500 hectoliters. Precise screening further enhances the quality and beauty of the wine. In the brewing of wine, Perrault Winery is based on the principle of brewing wine with unique personality, and uses different brewing and aging methods and containers for different wines. After the wine grapes are manually picked and screened in the winemaking workshop, they will be placed in clay pots, concrete tanks, cement tanks and other containers for alcohol fermentation according to the variety and plot, and then use French oak barrels, wooden barrels and Clay pots and other containers age the wine. At the same time, some wines will also improve the wine texture through Malolactic Fermentation and lees aging (Sur Lies). In order to produce better quality wines, the winery has also renovated the winery in recent years. Château Perrault's diverse vineyard terroir and unique brewing methods provide the basis for the variety of wines. At present, in addition to the three wines A, B and C of the Boggina series, the winery produced by the winery also includes Galatrona, Campo Lusso, Torrione and Four wines from San Petrolo. These wines, although different in style, are all of excellent quality and have received high marks from wine critics. For example, the 2018 red wine of Campo Luso received a high score of 97 points from the famous wine critic James Suckling; and the red wine of Garaço not only won the excellent quality of the 1998 wine Suckling's full score praised, and the 2015 wine was ranked second in its 2017 top 100 wine list with a high score of 99 points.
