2022 Galatrona

The Petrolo 2022 Val d'Arno di Sopra Galatrona is a beautiful wine with an elegantly focused and streamlined style. Proprietor Luca Sanjust describes this vintage as "the most Tuscan version of Galatrona" he has produced, and he remarks on the ability of Merlot, the grape used here, to resemble Sangiovese in the unique Valdarno territory. Winemaking has been tweaked to produce the wine in an initially more reductive style to ensure better and longer bottle evolution. The team is working with better woods, neutral oak and bigger capacities. There is more work with the lees and no racking. The wine shows a core of dark fruit with wild berries and pressed rose. This medium-plus Tuscan Merlot concludes with lasting freshness. The Galatrona site has mixed soils with sand, rocks and clay. Two geological plates meet at this spot, and the clay pan folds underground as a result. The site is surrounded by cooling forests. - Monica Larner (02/2025)