Wine Advisor
Petrolo, Galatrona 2017
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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
Despite the hardships of the vintage, Luca Sanjust and the team at Petrolo poured all their focus and attention into creating this wine. The 2017 Galatrona shows a hot-vintage interpretation of Merlot that never feels too ripe or heavy. Instead, this wine ushers forth a remarkable succession of balsam herb-like aromas with Mediterranean shrub, rosemary essence and wild sage. Those garden-fresh aromas accompany the dark blackberry fruit that gives this wine its important center of gravity. The Merlot harvest came two weeks early in 2017, and yields were greatly reduced. I am suggesting a slightly shorter drinking window for the 2017 vintage compared to the cellar-worthy 2016 edition.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2017 Galatrona is a dark, sumptuous beauty. Even with all of its intensity, the 2017 has just enough aromatic nuance and delineation to keep things in check. Espresso, mocha, black cherry, menthol and licorice infuse this plush, dense Merlot with tons of character. This is such a gorgeous and sumptuous wine.
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.
