Wine advocate 97/100 James Suckling 98/100 Falstaff 98/100 Size:1.5 l Type:Red Country:Italy Region:Toscana Denomination:Val d'Arno di Sopra DOC Grapes:Merlot 100% Aging:About 18/20 mesi in tonneau and barrique. Constant batonnage on lees for the first 8 months. Alcohol content:14.5% Service temperature:18/20°C Vintage:2018 An unusual DOC, a noble grape variety like Merlot, and the vision and tenacity of a family that has been making quality wine for generations-these are the ingredients behind one of the world’s most famous and award-winning supertuscans. From an intuition of Lucia, mother of today’s owner Luca Sanjust, the planting of a special vineyard set on a hill characterized by a unique soil particularly suited to the production of Merlot was initiated. The vineyard of the same name, planted during the 1990s with Bordeaux-cut balances such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Franc and Petit Verdot, covers about ten hectares in the Feriale locality on soil with various stratifications of marl, alberese and sandstone with a higher clay concentration, at an average altitude of 300 meters and southeastern exposure. Soil suited because the higher concentration of clay allows moisture to be maintained in the hot summer months, in the absence of rainfall and irrigation (as per the winery’s wishes). It is already since 2004 that Petrolo has been treating the vineyard in a natural and sustainable way: the aforementioned absence of irrigation is accompanied by a deliberate lack of fertilization of the soil to encourage natural grassing. Attention to sustainability is closely linked to respect for the raw material, treated with care in the cellar after manual harvesting, macerations of at least 15 days with frequent manual pumping over, use of indigenous yeasts, batonnage of the fine lees-these are just some of the typical practices behind Galatrona and before aging for 18 months in barrique. Certainly at ease with long maturation, it nonetheless proves ready for the drink of a taster justifiably eager to add this oenological gem to his or her experience, in the rarest magnum format.