Bibi Graetz, Colore Rossa, Toscana 2023

Balanced, juicy, characterful, with waves of rose petals, crushed raspberries and a touch of grilled oak. Combines precision and carefully-placed tannic architecture with a generosity of spirit, lifting the foot off the pedal exactly when you want it to. This is great winemaking, well judged and full of joy, one of the wines of the lineup. Tasted again at home with friends, and it's a wine that you want to share. Fermented and aged in large oak casks.

The 2023 Rosso Colore evolves in the glass with a glorious bouquet of violet and lavender florals, giving way to sweet spice, stone dust and stemmed wild strawberries. This is an elegant and refined beauty, with crisp mineral tones up front complementing crunchy cherry-berry fruits, all offset by a subtle citrus twang. A complex web of fine tannins frames the experience beautifully. The 2023 finishes long with a pleasantly bitter tinge.

Colore has been submitted to many transformations over the years, including changes to its blend and changes to its vineyard sourcing. Today, Colore represents about 24,000 bottles produced, compared to 40,000 bottles of Testamatta. The Bibi Graetz 2023 Colore sees a tiny 1% of whole-cluster fruit for a hint of buoyancy but otherwise offers plenty of natural spiciness and cinnamon-like flavors from the skins of Sangiovese. Fruit comes from old vines, showing aromas of wild strawberry, iris and blueberry. There is a delicate sweetness to the fruit in this vintage. The wine is elegant and medium weight, emphasizing ethereal nuances over anything heavy or too powerful.