Wine Advisor
Petrolo, Galatrona 2011
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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
The 2011 Galatrona is an immense and profound wine with great fruit intensity and lovely layers of richness and opulence. Galatrona is a pure expression of Merlot and is one of the best interpretations of the wine made anywhere on earth. What sets it apart is its Tuscan personality. In addition to soft cherry and blackberry, you get Mediterranean herb, tobacco and polished leather. The warmth of the 2011 vintage has succeeded in adding extra padding and textural richness to the wine. The tannins are luscious, soft and very smooth.
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
Very intense and inky black, the 2011 Galatrona is a hugely ripe red wine. Fruit was picked on August 25th, which is a record in terms of early harvests at this estate. The bouquet revs up slowly with aromas of scorched earth, blackberry confit, toasted espresso and bitter chocolate. You also get a note of savory mineral or burnt flint that adds contours and definition to that significant intensity. The wine offers trace sweetness on the finish that contributes to the opulence and richness of the overall package.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Petrolo's 2011 Galatrona is just as impressive this year as it was last year. A vivid, voluptuous wine, the 2011 literally jumps from the glass, showing superb intensity, power and depth. Mocha, black cherries, smoke, tobacco and leather are some of the many notes that inform this drop-dead gorgeous, extroverted Galatrona. The style is overt and unabashedly ripe, but all the elements are in the right place. Galatrona fans will adore the 2011. What a gorgeous wine this is.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2011 Galatrona, which I tasted from cement, retains remarkable freshness and vibrancy for a vintage in which so many wines are on the edge of over ripeness. Sweet, floral notes add gorgeous aromatic overtones to balance the intensity of the Merlot fruit. Plum, black cherry, smoke, tar and licorice all flesh out on the voluptuous finish. Today, the 2011 is shaping up to be a superb Galatrona.
Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
Bright medium ruby-red. Reticent but pungent nose combines dark berries, minty underbrush, Oriental spices, faded flowers, and a hint of beef bouillon. Enters ripe and sweet but turns aggressive in the middle, with mouthcoating tannins that coat the palate dry on the medium-long, menthol-accented finish. Ultimately displays less depth and concentration than the powerful nose suggests. I actually like this less today than when first tasted it on release: will the gritty tannins ever resolve with time in bottle? The very hot summer led the estate to pull the trigger quickly on picking the grapes (the harvest began on August 26, the earliest on record for Galatrona).
Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
(100% merlot): Good full ruby. Dark plum, mocha, aromatic herbs, minerals and spicy oak on the nose. Sweet, pliant and inviting, with ripe but very refined flavors of flinty black cherry, plum, mocha and menthol complicated by dried flowers. Finishes extremely long, with exceptional balance, lingering flint and coffee nuances, and sweet, building tannins. Very dense and concentrated but there's nothing over the top about this remarkably elegant wine. One of Italy's greatest merlots and an exceptional showing in a rather hot year, something that merlot doesn't normally take a shine to.
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.
