2019 Masseto, Tuscany, Italy

2019 Masseto, Tuscany, Italy

Product: 20191160743
Prices start from £1,956.50 per case Buying options
2019 Masseto, Tuscany, Italy

Buying options

Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
Case format
Availability
Price per case
3 x 75cl bottle
BBX marketplace BBX 1 case £1,956.50
Original Wooden Case
Original Wooden Case
BBX marketplace BBX 3 cases £1,957.04
Original Wooden Case
Original Wooden Case
1 x 150cl magnum
BBX marketplace BBX 1 case £1,500.00
1 x 300cl double magnum
BBX marketplace BBX 1 case £3,990.00
You can place a bid for this wine on BBX

Description

A sculpted but intense Masseto, with a powerful creep through the palate of liqourice, chocolate, espresso, cocoa, turmeric and smoked vanilla bean. Stunningly rich in texture and concentration, but captures the freshness of eucalypytus, raspberry leaf and crushed mint. 100% new oak, confident, with a velvety punch of flavour from beginning to end. An interesting vintage in tems of the wider conversation around grapes and climate also, as a touch of Cabernet Franc is included for the first time for added grip, from a plot within the vineyard that was planted back in 2002. They expect this percentage to rise over the coming years, begging the question of whether bottles of the old style Masseto will become a time capsule of when Merlot was possible in Bolgerhi? All the more reason to savour it now. 12 months in bottle following the barrel ageing. Director Axel Heinz, winemaker Eleonora Marconi. 100% new oak.

Drink 2023 to 2040

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux (August 2022)

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Critics reviews

Jane Anson99/100
A sculpted but intense Masseto, with a powerful creep through the palate of liqourice, chocolate, espresso, cocoa, turmeric and smoked vanilla bean. Stunningly rich in texture and concentration, but captures the freshness of eucalypytus, raspberry leaf and crushed mint. 100% new oak, confident, with a velvety punch of flavour from beginning to end. An interesting vintage in tems of the wider conversation around grapes and climate also, as a touch of Cabernet Franc is included for the first time for added grip, from a plot within the vineyard that was planted back in 2002. They expect this percentage to rise over the coming years, begging the question of whether bottles of the old style Masseto will become a time capsule of when Merlot was possible in Bolgerhi? All the more reason to savour it now. 12 months in bottle following the barrel ageing. Director Axel Heinz, winemaker Eleonora Marconi. 100% new oak.

Drink 2023 to 2040

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux (August 2022) Read more

About this WINE

Masseto

Masseto

Masseto is an Italian wine produced in the Bolgheri of Tuscany, specifically within the coastal area known as the Maremma. It is renowned as one of Italy’s most prestigious and sought-after wines, particularly for its exceptional quality and limited production.

Masseto is made exclusively from Merlot grapes, which is somewhat unusual for Tuscany, as many other regional top wines are predominantly composed of Sangiovese. The choice of Merlot is significant because it thrives in the clay-rich soil of the Masseto vineyard, producing grapes of exceptional quality.

The vineyard is located in the Bolgheri region, specifically in the Tenuta dell’Ornellaia estate. Its unique terroir, characterized by clay soil mixed with gravel and excellent drainage, contributes to the wine’s distinct character and complexity. The winemaking process involves hand-harvesting the Merlot grapes, careful sorting, and fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. The wine is then aged in French oak barrels, with a portion of new barrels each vintage to provide structure and complexity.

Masseto is produced in minimal quantities, making it a rare and highly sought-after wine. The annual production is small, with variations depending on vintage conditions.

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Bolgheri

Bolgheri

Bolgheri is a new DOC in the coastal Maremma region which first rose to prominence during the 1970s with the emergence of the so-called Super Tuscan wines like Ornellaia and Sassicaia. These new ventures had rocked the DOC establishment by using high proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon, opting out of the DOC system and relabeling their wines as simply Vino da Tavola (table wine). 

Having won universal acclaim and exchanging hands for unprecedented prices (higher even than Tuscany's finest examples), the authorities relented and awarded Bolgheri its own DOC. The actions of the Super Tuscans inspired a generation in Italy, even if some of the wines here have lost a little of their lustre since.

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Merlot

Merlot

The most widely planted grape in Bordeaux and a grape that has been on a relentless expansion drive throughout the world in the last decade. Merlot is adaptable to most soils and is relatively simple to cultivate. It is a vigorous naturally high yielding grape that requires savage pruning - over-cropped Merlot-based wines are dilute and bland. It is also vital to pick at optimum ripeness as Merlot can quickly lose its varietal characteristics if harvested overripe.

In St.Emilion and Pomerol it withstands the moist clay rich soils far better than Cabernet grapes, and at it best produces opulently rich, plummy clarets with succulent fruitcake-like nuances. Le Pin, Pétrus and Clinet are examples of hedonistically rich Merlot wines at their very best. It also plays a key supporting role in filling out the middle palate of the Cabernet-dominated wines of the Médoc and Graves.

Merlot is now grown in virtually all wine growing countries and is particularly successful in California, Chile and Northern Italy.

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