1999 Fattoria Petrolo Torrione IGT Sangiovese

Lucia Bazzocchi Sanjust and her son Luca Sanjust own the Petrolo vineyards. The vineyard manager is Carlo Nesterini and the Oenologist is Giulio Gambelli. Sebastiano Rosa directs the marketing. The property consists of 272 hectares of which 31 hectares are vines, 19 hectares are olive trees and the remainder is natural forest. The land area lies between 250 and 400 meters above sea level. The zone of production is in the area of Colli Aretini around Monti Chianti. Historically the region was known and recognised by the grand Duke of Tuscany in 1716 for its excellence in wine quality. The farm of Petrolo lies on part of an ancient medieval town called Galatrona of which the medieval towers (Torrione) still exist today. This ancient town of Galatrona, which was built on pre Roman ruins, also produced a wine called Torrione. The family Bazzocchi acquired the vineyards in the 40's and since the 80's they have produced exclusive, premium quality wines.
The type of wines produced by Petrolo radically changed after the 1996 vintage. Previously they produced a Chianti Colli Aretini and a Chianti Colli Aretini Riserva. Now the production is concentrated principally on two major Cru wines. The "Torrione" IGT which is 100% Sangiovese and the "Galatrona" IGT which is 100% Merlot. These two magnificent cru wines have a younger brother which is the "Terre del Galatrona" IGT made with 70% Sangiovese and 30% Merlot. Terre del Galatrona is made from the grapes picked from the younger vines not quite mature enough to use in the production of the premium Cru wines of Torrione and Galatrona. Terre del Galatrona is known for its fruity smooth structure and important harmonic tannins.

Made from 100% Sangiovese from vines planted in the 70's, in the production zone of Colli Aretini surrounding the ancient medieval town of Galatrona. The low yielding grapes are handpicked resulting in a small production of grapes with concentrated flavour. During fermentation the must spends over 14 days on the skins and during this time the wine is stirred with extreme care. The wine undergoes malolactic fermentation quite rapidly prior to ageing in oak. The wine spends twelve months in a majority of new French oak Barrique. During this time the wine is regularly decanted. The wine spends a further six months in the bottle before release.

TASTING NOTE : A magnificent wine produced from the Sangiovese grape. Very deep crimson colour with deep crimson hue. Superb nose with aroma of violets, spice and dark cherries - a magnificent sniff! The palate does not let the nose down and continues to deliver loads of sophisticated flavours. Flavours of spice, liquorice allsorts, dark cherries over a violet infused background. Fine grained tannins, perfect balance, followed by very long dark cherry and spice aftertaste.
Cellar 4-5 years (2006-2007)
Alc/Vol: 13.5%

RATING: 96/100

VALUE: XXXXX/5