The Bibi Graetz winery was founded in 2000 on the hill of Fiesole, overlooking Florence. Bibi grew up in a family of artists, but fell completely in love with wine and made it his life. Considered one of Italy's most ingenious winemakers, Bibi Graetz has risen from artist to cult winemaker since the release of his first wines back in 2000.
Born and raised in Italy, Bibi makes his wines in his family home, Castello di Vincigliata, a castle in Fiesole. The lack of a traditional Tuscan Estate freed Bibi to search out parcels of old vines around Tuscany – and even the Isola di Giglio – which are the basis for his concentrated, yet elegant wines. Today, the Bibi Graetz estate has assembled one of the largest collections of old vineyards in Tuscany.
Bibi was fascinated by old vineyards; by their finesse, elegance and the purity of the fruits they can produce. His love for old vines brought with it the passion for native Tuscan varieties. Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino are the core of their wines.
Without any formal training and with initially only a small 2 hectare vineyard on his parents' property overlooking Florence, he has managed to unceremoniously gatecrash the staid Tuscan wine scene and, in Testamatta, create one of Italy's great cult wines. Today he makes wine from an assortment of old vines sourced from around Tuscany, including 37 acres of vineyards at his property in Fiesole.
Old vines, high altitude, poor stony soils and natural viticulture characterise their production philosophy aimed to portray the terroir of each single vineyard. At the winery in Fiesole, spontaneous fermentations, open-top barriques, manual punch-down and old wine barrels transform the grapes into wines full of life, transparency and elegance.
Bibi Graetz’s white wines are born on the Isola del Giglio from the experience and wisdom transmitted by the old farmers. The island has an exceptional and extreme terroir. At 50 metres above sea level, the wind, the sun and the salt break the granite rocks to create sandy soils that have welcomed Ansonica for thousands of years. Very old vineyards overlooking the sea, granite and rocky soils give the wines finesse and extraordinary minerality.
Now rated in the top 12 collectable Tuscan producers, Bibi's wines have gone from strength to strength over the past decade. Using organic cultivation methods and resisting the trend of planting Cabernet and Merlot, these wines are the ultimate expression of indigenous grape varieties.