An unusual DOC, a noble grape variety like Merlot, and the vision and tenacity of a family that has been making quality wine for generations-these are the ingredients behind one of the world’s most famous and award-winning supertuscans.

From an intuition of Lucia, mother of today’s owner Luca Sanjust, the planting of a special vineyard set on a hill characterized by a unique soil particularly suited to the production of Merlot was initiated.

The vineyard of the same name, planted during the 1990s with Bordeaux-cut balances such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Franc and Petit Verdot, covers about ten hectares in the Feriale locality on soil with various stratifications of marl, alberese and sandstone with a higher clay concentration, at an average altitude of 300 meters and southeastern exposure. Soil suited because the higher concentration of clay allows moisture to be maintained in the hot summer months, in the absence of rainfall and irrigation (as per the winery’s wishes).

It is already since 2004 that Petrolo has been treating the vineyard in a natural and sustainable way: the aforementioned absence of irrigation is accompanied by a deliberate lack of fertilization of the soil to encourage natural grassing.

The focus on sustainability is closely linked to respect for the raw material, which is treated with care in the winery after manual harvesting, which for the 2016 vintage took place regularly from the first week of September.

Macerations of at least 15 days with frequent manual pumping over, use of indigenous yeasts, batonnage of fine lees-these are just some of the typical practices behind Galatrona and before aging for 18 months in barrique.

An excellent vintage 2016, similar to the previous year (considered one of the best ever) in both quality and quantity of grapes, which arrived at maturity perfectly healthy and ready to give us an elegant, structured, complex and above all balanced wine between hard and soft components. Certainly at ease with long maturation, it nonetheless proves ready for the drink of a taster justifiably eager to add this oenological gem to his or her experience, in the rarest magnum format.