Biography
The Grattamacco estate, located in a privileged position on the hills of Bolgheri in the municipality of Castagneto Carducci, was founded in 1977. Today led by the Tipa-Bertarelli family (Claudio Tipa is the uncle of Ernesto Bertarelli, the owner of Alinghi – the sailing team that won twice the America’s Cup), Today, the Grattamacco estate counts 80 hectares, 29 of which are vineyards, 4 of which are olive groves, surrounded by a vast woodland that moderates the Tyrrhenian sea’s winds, for a drying effect that allows the estate to work sustainably. As a matter of fact, in 1997 Grattamacco was the very first estate in Bolgheri that certified organic.
The Grattamacco Rosso (Bolgheri Superiore DOC), an icon of the area with the first vintage produced in 1982, goes beyond the typical Super Tuscan of the area maintaining its Tuscan roots with the presence of Sangiovese in the blend together with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
A dry climate thanks to the influence of sea breezes, with thermal excursions between days and nights, allow our grapes to reach always a perfect maturation maintaining the correct acidity (freshness) and develop the wine’s sweet tannins and a savory edge.
Interesting to know that the estate was the first to plant Vermentino in Bolgheri with the oldest vineyard from 1986 and still fully in production —a varietal followed by many in Bolgheri.
For the production of Grattamacco Rosso, the grapes are hand harvested and spontaneously fermented by the winemaker Luca Marrone in 7hl open conical oak vats with very long macerations. The wines are then aged in French oak barriques, from the new to the second passage.
Under the Tipa-Bertarelli family, a single vineyard was planted in 2004, located on the plain with a terroir mix of silt and red sandy soils. A typical Bordeaux Left Bank blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Franc and Petit Verdot grown in an ancestral exagon pattern called “settonce” and trained them alberello or head-pruning, hence the wine’s name, L’Alberello.
The Tipa-Bertarelli family started their wine project in 1999 with the acquisition of the Colle Massari castle in the Montecucco DOC, located about an hour away from Bolgheri.
Colle Massari vineyards are located at 300 meters above sea level, with the influence of Montalcino and Monte Amiata – an extinct volcano, but 30 Km closer to the Tyrrhenian Sea. That maritime influence allows us to also grow Vermentino achieving a mineral and aromatic character, while Sangiovese share Montalcino’s boldness, but with softer tannins and darker fruit and a unique balsamic note.