Petra Quercegobbe Merlot 2023
£28.95
The wine
Aromatic notes of wild red fruits, blueberry and citrus, layered with thyme, rosemary and a balsamic thread reminiscent of Mediterranean scrub. Dense yet agile, with energetic tannins and a fresh, subtly sanguine finish.
Quercegobbe means hunchbacked oaks, after the wind-bent trees on the coastal hills. Varietal Merlot on iron-rich soils in a warm maritime zone, given French oak ageing. Merlot has a mixed record in Tuscany but performs well on the coast, where it ripens evenly rather than racing ahead of its acidity.
The producer
Petra
View all Petra winesPetra was founded in 1997 at Suvereto in the Val di Cornia, on the Tuscan coast south of Bolgheri, by Vittorio Moretti of Bellavista and his daughter Francesca.
The winery itself is the most striking thing about it: a vast circular building designed by the Swiss architect Mario Botta, cut into the hillside with a long stone staircase running up its face towards the vines. It has become one of the most photographed wineries in Italy.
The Maremma coast is warmer, flatter and more maritime than inland Tuscany, and Bordeaux varieties ripen fully here where they struggle in the hills. Petra works Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc alongside Sangiovese, on iron-rich soils in a zone that was mined for metals from Etruscan times. Farming is organic.
