Italiano
The home of Masseto
The new Masseto winery offers ideal conditions to make and conserve the wine with a minimal environmental impact.
Last April we were among those invited to the inauguration of the new Masseto winery, an internationally recognized iconic Italian wine, along with Sassicaia, which, not by chance, is also produced in Bolgheri. Before writing about it, I waited until we were invited back for a “scoop”: We at DoctorWine were the first guests to inaugurate the glass-walled tasting room, which is partially suspended in the room with the barriques maturing for a second year.
I do not believe there is a fan of Italian wine who does not know Masseto, at least by reputation. Tasting it, on the other hand, is another story given its stiff price. This 100% Merlot is produced with grapes from a vineyard on one of the hills around Bolgheri that has a wonderful view of the sea and the islands in the Tuscan archipelago. “This is an uncontaminated place that is not easy to work,” estate director Axel Heinz told us. “Looking at it, you would not think it could produce a wine like this. It is not even in one of the areas best-suited for Merlot and the conditions here are too extreme. We are always on the verge of producing a fantastic wine but such a result is never a certainty. There is always a risk of failure yet, nevertheless, this vineyard never ceases to surprise us. It is truly a magical place, one where it is Nature that makes the more important decisions,” he added.
What makes this vineyard special is the blue Pliocene clay soil that, together with the light sea breeze, the sun of the Tuscan Coast and the light reflected by the sea, contribute to create that particularterroir which makes Masseto unique. All that was lacking to exalt this wine was its own winery (it was previously made in the one that produces Ornellaia) for which a project from the ZitoMori studio in Milan was chosen. The winery was entirely dug out from under the vineyard’s hill, 2,500 square meters divided into various levels. The entrance is already a wonder: a kind of tunnel with smooth, black walls carved out of the earth. You would almost expect to see the Batmobile come racing out of it. The entrance hall leads to a corridor suspended over the fermentation room, with its 12 dark-gray tanks with multifaceted surfaces inside of which are 65hl cement fermentation vats shaped like tulips. The grapes come from above (the reception terrace is the only part above ground) and after they have been sorted and pressed, the juice filters down into the vats. The suspended corridor ends at a cement staircase that leads down to the cellar where the wine matures in barriques for the first year. Here you can see the “Japanese” hand of Hikarun Mori as you walk over a shallow pool that separates the floor between the barriques. This walkway ends at a steel door through which you come to the cellar where the wine matures for a second year – the one with the tasting room – where the front wall has been left uncovered to show the famous blue clay. On a side wall of concrete is, as if by magic, a perfectly camouflaged door behind which is the Caveau Masseto, where a collection of Masseto, starting from the first year of production, 1986, is stored.
The inaugural dinner was held in this second cellar and, needless to say, the wine was excellent.
All the wines tasted were from magnum bottles.
Masseto 2015
99/100 - € 600,00
Made from only Merlot grapes and matured in barriques for two years. The color is a dark and bright ruby and the austere aroma is complex and fruity with notes of cherry and mulberry, with a perfect spice component and sensations of winter underbrush and Mediterranean shrub at the same time. The mouthfeel is, for lack of a better word, fantastic with an elegance that goes beyond the richness of the flavor.
The stylistic evolution of this great “pride of Italian winemaking” would appear complete: in this 2015, the formal rigor and stylistic awareness appear to have taken the place of the boldness that distinguished it before.
Masseto 2004
97/100 - € 750
Made from only Merlot grapes and matured in barriques for two years. The ruby color is always bright and the complex bouquet has aromas of raspberry and ripe cherry along with notes of coffee, tobacco and elegant spice. The mouthfeel is very rich, intense, bold and structured, with flavors consistent with the aromas and a very long aftertaste.
Masseto 1996
98/100 - € 750
Made from only Merlot grapes and matured in barriques for two years. The bright, ruby color has not diminished and the scents are wrapping and fresh with aromatic herbs up front followed by notes of Mediterranean shrubs and a parade of dark ad red fruit sensations. The soft and elegant mouthfeel is balanced and flavorful and the style recalls the 2015 more than 2004. This is a wine that, after 20 years, still has a lot to give.
