Varietal(s): 60% Vermentino, 30% Trebbiano, 10% Ansonica
Vineyard Management: Practicing organic
Winemaking Techniques: Stainless steel tank, Spontaneous fermentation
Typicity: Typical. I would consider Bibi's lighter expressions and less extracted style the new benchmark, since he's been doing this for 20 years now.
Bio: Bibi Graetz is not a household name even amongst some of the more serious collectors of wine. But many of us have heard of his most coveted bottling - Testamatta.
Bibi came to wine in sort of a strange way. He's the son of Swiss-Isreali sculptor, Gidon Graetz. He studied art at the Acadamie della Belle Arti in Florence just as his father had done as a young man, and the family took up residence in castle with a modest vineyard. The family had always made wine, but really only for their own table.
It wasn't until Bibi met the like of Peter Sissek (Dominio del Pingus) and Jean-Luc Thunevin (Chateau Valandraud) in Bordeaux in the early 2000's that he began to turn his creative efforts to winemaking.
His process is simply enough: fall in love with a vineyard or small parcel, harvest by hand, allow fermentation to begin spontaneously and be mindful as the wine ages.
In his over twenty years, he's become a cult classic and his table wines, Casamatta, are extraordinary values.
