Galatrona is the “Grand-Cru” of Merlot by Petrolo, only made with the grapes from the vineyard of the same name planted between the end of the 80’s and half of the 90’s with low vigor bordeaux clones. The peculiar soil, rich in clay in combination with schist, marl and sandstones, allows the concentration of all the noble components of the grapes, fundamental for the great structure, elegance, balance and persistence wanted for this wine.
The Vineyard: Galatrona is the “Grand-Cru” of Petrolo, only made with Merlot grapes from the vineyard Galatrona planted between the end of the 80’s and half of the 90’s with low vigor bordeaux clones. The vineyard extends for 10 Ha with almost 50.000 plants grown on spurred cordon trellising.
First Vintage: 1994
The Soil: Loam rich in clay, with shale, marl and sandstone. Altitude 300 m asl. South-eastern exposure. Placed on the south-eastern borders of the Chianti Hills, in the DOC Val d’Arno di Sopra. Clay helps keeping moisture in the soil, of which merlot has higher needs in the hot, dry, Tuscan summers. The combination of stones, shale and clay is among the elements that allow Galatrona to produce elegant and full-bodied wines even in what are considered minor vintages.
Vinegrowing: Since 2004 we have been abandoning traditional farming methods practising natural/sustainable farming: dry farming, no tillage, total grassing with mulch management, no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. Official Organic Certification was obtained from harvest 2016 (Petrolo olive oil is organic since the 90’s). To achieve natural balance in the vineyard, the plants are managed by hand with targeted intervention. Heavier pruning and grape thinning are almost absent in the mature vineyards already balanced. Today extra management is only needed in the more challenging years.
Vinification: Manual harvest in crates and further grape selection with sorting table. Spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts in glazed concrete vats. Soft and frequent manual pumping over.
Aging: Spontaneous malo-lactic fermentation in wood. Maturation for about 18/20 months in rigorously selected French oak tonneaux and barriques, new for about a third. Constant batonnage of the fine lees for the first 8 months.
Style: Intense elegant wine with great structure and complexity, lovely balance between acidity, fruit and tannins. A great wine, beyond the grape variety it’s made from, which talk of the piece of land it came from, a classic in its own way.
Wine Appellation: DOC Valdarno di Sopra, Merlot (100%), Vigna Galatrona. Estate produced and bottled. ORGANIC
Vintage Report: The 2021 vintage had a difficult seasonal trend, spring frosts and summer drought, which extremely reduced production, around 30% lower than usual. Despite the lack of rains, it was possible to reach optimum grape maturation keeping low yields per plant.
Harvest: Started the first week of September.
Yield: Overall, outstanding results were obtained thanks to Petrolo’s caring hands in the vineyard and in the cellar which allowed us to reach excellent wine quality even in a vintage of this kind.
Score: (*) 99 LG ES 98 JS 98 VG 96 WS 97 DEC 100 FA 97 DW 100 LG 97 WJ 97+ RP 97 WE
Parameters: Alcohol: 14 % Acidità: 5.89 g/l pH: 3.56
