2011 Bibi Graetz Soffocone di Vincigliata Toscana IGT

Community Tasting Notes (6) Avg Score: 88.9 points

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  7/13/2022 - acheng wrote: 90 Points

  Tasted surprise good after 11 years. Drink now.

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  9/18/2016 - mjwstickings Likes this wine: 91 Points

  There's a great story to this one. "Soffocone" is Tuscan slang for a blow job. Apparently, young Florentines, still living at home, go out to the vineyards and olive groves around the city to engage in sexual activity, outdoors but in a more private setting. (The producer, the renowned Bibi Graetz, is located in Vincigliata, near Fiesole, in the hills just northeast of Florence.) Hence the controversial (in the puritanical U.S. at least, where the wine was banned) label depicting a woman on her knees. But is what's in the bottle itself any good? Absolutely. The label is erotic, but so is the wine. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it looks, smells, and tastes just like great wine should, appealing and arousing across the senses, at least within that distinctively Italian idiom where the fruity and the savoury are aligned, each part complementary but shining on its own, and the result is gloriously balanced and perfectly complementary to matching local food. And the specifics bear this out. There is outstanding, terroir-driven complexity, with notes of cherry, raspberry, raspberry leaf, earth, leather, vanilla, mushroom (loads of umami generally), fennel, and cranberry, wafting aromas replayed on the palate with cleansing, richness-cutting acidity and firm but forgiving tannins, just what one should expect from a truly great expression of Sangiovese -- 90%, blended with 7% Canaiolo (softening the tannins) and 3% Colorino (adding deeper colour). This is indeed great now, erotic and so very much of its origins, but there's more than enough stuffing here for further aging and improvement, particularly to tone down the acidity. Yes, the label is just the beginning.

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  10/25/2014 - acheng wrote: 89 Points

  Nice savoury and dill with classic Chianti profile finishing with spiny acidity and still tannin to shed.

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  4/14/2014 - beezer6 wrote: 89 Points

  Tenzing Portfolio Tasting (Untitled - Chicago, IL): Tart red fruit. Pretty good.

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  2/11/2014 - MC2 Wines wrote:

  James Suckling/Zachy's Super Tuscany Tasting (City Winery (Varick Street in NYC)): Much cleaner, strong fruit, there's an unripe fruit taste towards the end that really lends the wine some character and brings everything together. It's tasty.

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