![]() Located in Tuscany's tiny coastal DOC of Bolgheri, the estate was one of the first to plant vines in the area. Even the estate's "second" wines demonstrate high quality grape growing and flawless production methods. ![]() In the capable hands of winemaker Thomas Duroux and consultant Michel Rolland, the estate continues its long-standing, stellar record of world-class wine production. ![]() Tenuta dell'Ornellaia makes outstanding wines even in poor vintages - better than any other. After bottling, the wine was aged for an additional 12 months prior to release. The wine was then blended and reintroduced into the barrels for another year, making a total of 24 months. Afterwards, malolactic fermentation took place in 100% new oak barrique, and the different lots were kept separate for the first 12 months of maturation. Fermentation took place in both steel and wood tanks, followed by 15-20 days maceration at a temperature between 25 and 30° C. Six different lots were vinified separately. The bunches, hand harvested in 15kg crates, were carefully sorted by hand on a double sorting table before and after destemming and then subjected to a gentle crushing. Lastly, the lower rows grow on less clayey soil which lends the wine its fullness, warmth and generosity. In the sloping part of the vineyard (with about a 10% gradient), grey clay predominates and gives the wine its structural backbone. At the top of the hill, at around 120 metres above sea level, the loosest ground is made up of clay and sand with numerous pebbles and, this contributes to the elegant nature of the wine. The wine is the synthesis of its singular 7 hectare vineyard formed of three types of soil. The gentle breezes coming off the sea during the war summer months, the intensity of the sunlight and the specificity of the unique soils, allow the vines to develop and ripen gradually and contribute to granting Masseto its enchanting combination of freshness and ripeness. Blessed with the generosity of a Mediterranean climate, this small vineyard enjoys breath-taking views, which stretch to the Tuscan coast, and a mosaic of different soils including an exceptional presence of grey clay. The first vintage was called very simply ‘Merlot’ but, from 1987, it has taken on the name of its vineyard ‘Masseto’. This small, exceptional and legendary cru has soon become a collector’s item sold in auctions all over the world. Masseto was born ‘almost by chance’ in 1986 when it was decided to vinify the Merlot from the Masseto vineyard alone as it ‘promised well’. In fact, I went back to taste the wine 12 hours later, and they had already softened considerably. You feel the oak tannins on the finish with toast and vanilla that will certainly shed as the wine ages. Those distinctive notes of macchia mediterranea (wild bush) that I always associate with Masseto are less present in this vintage. If concerned that the hot vintage would draw out too many ripe fruit tones, the oak serves to soften some of the more volatile components of the fruit. Perhaps, what this vintage lacks is that profound varietal character that we saw in recent vintages like 20. I tasted this wine next to the decidedly more playful Massetino, and the Masseto moves over the palate with substantial fruit weight and concentration gained over the course of this hot and dry growing season (which produced smaller, richer and more compact berries). It is powerful, but that's always the case with Masseto (this vintage records a 15.5% alcohol content). Like most vintages of Masseto tasted this early in the game, the oak is omnipresent, and it grounds the wine in terms of texture and structure. The wine then goes into bottle for 12 months before its release. Fermentation kicks off in a combination of steel and oak tanks before the wine is racked over to barrique, where it rests for two years. This wine was made in the old winery (the existing Ornellaia winery). The center of the vineyard now is home to the new Masseto winery and an adjacent tasting room built into a pre-existing farmhouse. That ideal position opens the vineyards to soft breezes, proximity to the sea, long daylight hours and cool diurnal shifts from the protective wall of low mountains at the back. The vines are planted at an altitude of 80 to 100 meters above sea level in blue clay soils that are unique to Bolgheri. This special site is located at the base of the mountains that rise gently from the Tyrrhenian Sea, with the picturesque silhouette of the Castiglioncello castle at the top. The Masseto vineyard is a triangular-shaped plot tucked in at the back of the same property that houses the Ornellaia vineyards and winery. The Masseto 2017 Masseto puts on another exhilarating, knock-out performance for the third year in a row.
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