Bibi Graetz Colore Bianco 2023

The Drinks Business

Richer still, with a slightly more exotic aromatic profile and associated complexity. Citrus. More structured and more layered. Picked a little earlier. Strangely reminiscent of Meursault in its freshness, opulence and capacity to provide the perfect vehicle for acidity and minerality. Great complexity. Walnut and white almond. Blood orange. Peach and apricot, guava and quince, passionfruit and passionflower. So juicy. So rich, but ethereal in its freshness. A more diffuse (and hence integrated) acidity than Testamatta. Quite superb.

James Suckling

Orange blossoms, orange peel, sliced oranges, sea salt and granite. Medium- to full-bodied with lots of gorgeous fruit and wonderful character. Rather exotic and wild, with perfectly ripe fruit. The lees were stirred three times a week. Lightly phenolic, with minerals and botanicals. This from a single vineyard of ansonica grapes called Pietrabona. Give this three to four years of bottle age to soften.

Jane Anson

Textured and structured, with initially reserved aromatics that, as with last year’s vintage, really uncurl after 24 hours in fridge, or at least a good few hours in a carafe. Beautifully layered poached pear and peach pit, sage, dried herbs, white pepper, emphasis less on fruits than minerality and an oyster shell saline finish, with flinty juiciness.

Owen Bargreen

The 2022 ‘Colore Bianco’ is a magnificent effort that is powerful, bright and finesse-driven. The wine comes from 100% Ansonica grapes which are sourced from the Island of Giglio. Set on granite, the wine comes from the Pietrabona Vineyard which is a terraced site situated on the southwest part of the island, set between 200 and 500 feet. Utterly seamless throughout the drinking experience, the wine is a Total knockout with its texture, depth and underlying salty terroir. Wet gravel, salted nectarine, juicy white plum and suggestions of yarrow all combine on the palate. Very wild and showing serious nuance, this near minute-long finish entices with cream and copious minerals. A total stunner, the 2022 ‘Colore Bianco’ is going to satisfy for more than a decade to come — and is totally irresistible in its youth.

Tastingbook.com

Robert Parker

I saw the birth of this wine and am honored to report on its progression now. When I visited Bibi Graetz's tiny garage winery on the island of Giglio last year during harvest, I had the opportunity to taste this (it was hardly wine yet) from barrel. Ansonica grapes from the Pietrabuona vineyard, not too far from the estate's breathtaking Serrone that overlooks the Tyrrhenian Sea, were fermented apart, thanks to the obvious quality of the fruit. From the start, Bibi Graetz and his team knew that these three barrels from this single-vineyard site were different than the rest. That's why they decided to make a new wine, the 2018 Colore Bianco, and the idea is to continue production in the future.

Decanter

Slightly less expressive on the nose than the Testamatta Bianco, this 100% Ansonica from old vines, is more subtle with pear, apricot, wild honey, white blossom and a delicate dusting of pepper and clove spice. Generous and charming, this settles quite quickly on the tongue, a dash of bitterness, soft acidity, sweet and ripe yellow fruit, warming toasted and herbal nuances and salty edges. It's concentrated and detailed, but more brimming under the surface at this point, not yet ready to come out all guns blazing. Beautiful construction and a captivating display of flavours. I love the nuance and the rawness - tastes somewhat wild and a true expression of the grape and place with such a long-lasting finish. Extremely moreish and just begs another sip to see the evolution. A great wine.

Markus del Monego MW

A great terroir wine with excellent length, precision, power and amazing tension.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

James Suckling

Intense aromas of lime skin and other citrus fruit. Some apricot, too. Crushed stone. Sea breeze and crushed sea salt. Full-bodied with a firm and intense texture that is so long and flavorful. It goes on for minutes. Nice bitter notes from the dried lemon and apricot. Botanicals. Light chewiness adds to the complexity.