I got an awesome message from my local wine shop The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan that the following day from three to seven, there was going to be a “Special Event.”  It was very special in that Daniele Sbordi was going to be representing Bibi Graetz with some pre-order specials and some Library offering both in regular and large formats (magnum, double-magnum, and imperial bottles).  Bibi Graetz is an artist who studied at the Accademie d’Arte in Florence (and his artwork can be seen on the labels of the wines) and a Tuscan wine producer in Fiesole, in the hills northeast of Florence.  Bibi Graetz is recognized as a very innovative winemaker, sometimes unconventional, especially in Tuscany and he is championing for indigenous and sometimes forgotten grape varieties.  He started taking an interest in the family’s estate in the mid 1990’s, which at the time was only producing wine for the family’s personal consumption. He formed the Bibi Graetz winery in 2000 with thirty hectares of vines.  In 2020 he found ninety hectares of additional vineyard parcels to rent.

We started with Bibi Graetz Testamatta Bianco Toscana IGT 2021 which was first produced in 2016, and this wine was being offered for pre-order.  Testamatta translates to “Crazy Head” as one would have to presume that is because he learned from winemakers, who were local farmers like him, with no formal training in viticulture as a way to describe his venture.  Bibi Graetz spent his childhood on Giglio Island and learned his unique winemaking techniques listening to the knowledge and stories from the old farmers; Giglio Island is about sixteen kilometers off the shore of Maremma.  It has been alluded that his white wines are becoming a benchmark for whites in Italy, and this wine is made purely from Ansonica grapes (in Sicily it is known as Inzolia).  The fruit is sourced from the Serrone Vineyard in the southeast part of the island overlook the sea from to 60 to 150 meters altitude; the vines are at least one-hundred-years in age and grown in granite sand and rocks.  Ansonica is grown both in Tuscany and Sicily, known for having higher levels of tannins, and for years was mostly known for being used to produce Marsala wine, and the history has been long forgotten and muddled through the centuries.  The hand-harvested fruit is destemmed, gently pressed with dry-ice, and a one-hour period of maceration.  The fruit undergoes Initial Fermentation using indigenous yeast within forty-eight hours of harvest in Stainless-Stee tanks at low temperatures the fermenting juice is then transferred to new 225-liter barriques to ferment.  The wine ages on the lees for twelve months without Malolactic Fermentation and manual punch-downs.  A deep golden-straw colored wine with a soft nose offering notes of white fruits, jasmine, lemon zest, spices, nuts, and a hint of hay.  On the palate, a beguiling big and well-rounded wine with rich tones of apples, peaches, blended beautifully with some pepper and spices and a good finish of mineral terroir and salinity.  This wine was also touted for additional cellar time.  

We then went to Bibi Graetz Testamatta Rosso “20^th Anniversary” Toscana IGT 2019 and a great milestone for the “Crazy Head.”  This was the wine that got people to stand up and take notice.  A pure Sangiovese wine, a Super Tuscan displaying old vines from soils rich in stones and plenty of minerality.  According to Bibi Graetz the entire growing season was perfect and peak of quality since his first vintage.  It took almost three weeks of hand-harvesting, some parcels required eight times to pick the grapes at the perfect point of ripening.  The fruit was selected from the best five vineyards of the winery in different areas of Tuscany; Lamole Vineyard at 600 meters altitude, and Montefili Vineyard at 400 meters altitude and both in the heart of Chianti Classico, Vincigliata Vineyard at 280 meters altitude in Firenze, Londa Vineyard north of Firenze towards the Rufina valley, and Siena Vineyard pressed.  The Initial Fermentations are conducted using natural and indigenous yeasts, in open top barriques for the smaller parcels of vineyards, and the larger vineyards were in barrels or Stainless-Steel with six manual punch-downs and pump overs each day. After about ten days of maceration, the different parcels are moved into old barriques and barrels for twenty months.  A nice garnet-ruby red wine that offered notes of black cherries, red berries, anise, sous bois, and vanilla.  On the palate a medium-bodied wine featuring cherries and strawberries, and plums balanced with velvety tannins and great mineral terroir. Perfect for some time in the cellar.