Bibi Graetz Testamatta Bianco 2022

95 POINTS

James Suckling

Lots of lemon curd, honeysuckle, white peach, white stone and other flowers. Some blanched almonds and sea breeze underneath it all. Hints of algae, too. Full-bodied and layered with distinctive flavors of dried lemons and apples. Oyster shells. Some phenolics that occur due to the wind during the growing season.

94 POINTS

Monica Larner - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

With 7,000 bottles released, the Bibi Graetz 2022 Testamatta Bianco is fresh in character and linear in terms of its aromatic delivery. It helps that one-third of the wine goes through stainless steel, with the rest in neutral oak. This approach allows you to better appreciate aromas of fresh peach, white plumeria flower, persimmon, salty minimality and iodine. It's also worth noting that the Testamatta sources much of its fruit from north-facing slopes. Those cooler conditions certainly help in a hot vintage like 2022. The Colore is certainly more opulent in comparison. This wine does not go through malolactic fermentation because the goal is to keep as much freshness as possible. Stirring of the lees is gentle and enough to keep them alive, and it also serves to fight off excessive oxidation of the wine.

93 POINTS

James Button - Decanter

Testamatta Bianco is 100% Ansonica from the island of Giglio, where Bibi spent three months every summer when he was growing up. It's a blend from north-facing vines planted in granitic, sandy soils with layers of tufo, largely from the southwest but this year also incorporating some fruit from the north side of the island. Initially vinified in stainless steel, it then completes fermentation after the first week in stainless steel (30%) and new and used French oak barriques (70%). The wine is then matured for seven months in the same percentages. Fresh aromas of lemon, orange peel and floral notes lead to a bright and zippy palate with lovely texture. Intense but not overly concentrated, it's a sapid, saline and stony white with peach and pithy notes and a very long, peppery finish with some floral lift.