One Of The Greatest Italian Merlot Producers Releases A Second Wine

In the 1920s, Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, a Piedmontese agronomist, had a dream of making a great Italian Bordeaux-inspired wine. Eventually he made his way to the Bolgheri area in Tuscany, an unknown nook of Italy at the time, and established his Tenuta San Guido. In the 1940s he experimented with a mainly Cabernet Sauvignon wine called Sassicaia that would only be drunk by the family until the late 1960s. In the 80s, Sassicaia was internationally well-recognized and nicknamed a “Super Tuscan” and hence inspired other great winemaking families well-established in Tuscany to plant Bordeaux varieties in Bolgheri.

One of those inspired super tuscan wines was Ornellaia which was established by one of the Antinori family members; the first vintage was produced in 1985. Originally, André Tchelistcheff, who was America’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker, was hired as a consultant and suggested planting Merlot as well as Cabernet Sauvignon and he gave advice as to where to plant it, according to Estate Director for Ornellaia and Masseto, Axel Heinz. It was an odd choice even back in the 80s to plant Merlot as it was not as revered as Cabernet Sauvignon but it was important for Ornellaia to differentiate itself and Tchelistcheff believed that certain areas they planted could make great Merlot.

Masseto

In 1986, once they were able to use the Merlot single vineyard (that would eventually become Masseto) to blend into Ornellaia, the quality shocked even Tchelistcheff and a decision was made to make a separate bottling (600 bottles) as an experiment to be kept in the cellars and tasted over time; 1986 is the unofficial first vintage of Masseto that was labeled Merlot dell’Ornellaia – the first officially labeled Masseto wasn’t released until the 1987 vintage. And so, remarkably, it was never the plan from the beginning to produce a separate bottling of that Merlot vineyard. Now, Masseto, as well as Ornellaia, under the ownership of the legendary Tuscan family producer Frescobaldi, is evolving to the next stage as each will become its own estate with Masseto having a dedicated winery as well as releasing a second wine, Massetino.

Massetino

Axel Heinz spoke about this transition into making a second wine, “I think this is something that reflects the evolution of this wine but not only being a vineyard wine but turning into a full estate. Because it is true that we have recently decided to separate the Masseto vineyards from the Ornellaia parts as there is a beautiful new winery that we opened last year.” After many years of meticulous planning and construction, the subterranean Masseto winery, built directly into the famous blue clay that is part of the lore of the Masseto hill, was finished last year by architects ZITO+MORI. Ornellaia and Masseto were always treated as separate estates yet the unique qualities as well as the prominence that both have achieved in their own right always suggested that the iconic Masseto single vineyard needed to have its own winery that lived up to the wine’s reputation. Axel attested first hand that he had practiced strict selection with the Masseto grapes being able to take the unused wine and blend it into other final blends that were in the Ornellaia lineup (still being high quality but not making the cut for the greatest Italian Merlot) but now with the introduction of Masseto’s own winery/cellar, a second wine from this illustrious vineyard seemed to be the next natural step.

Axel, who had studied and worked in Bordeaux during his early career, didn’t want a complicated name for the second wine like some of the Bordeaux “Grand Vin” but he wanted it to be playful, direct and easily associated with its grand estate. He even noted that a miniscule portion of the Masseto vineyards was named Massetino because it was the tiniest plot. Also, Massetino will have its own distinctive profile and it will allow the Masseto team to “confidently experiment a little bit without taking the risk of any brutal changes at Masseto”; part of the experiment includes 8% Cabernet Franc which is added to Massetino for its inaugural 2017 vintage. Although the Masseto vineyard is still finding balance of vitality and richness with 100% Merlot from that particular site, the concern of warmer weather with climate change has instigated Axel and his team to plant Cabernet Franc but time will tell if they will need it for Masseto. Another aspect of Axel thinking about the possibility of effects from climate change is the exploration of different canopy systems such as bush vines (also known as goblet) because it will help Merlot be more “adaptive in drier and hotter conditions” and the gentle pruning involved with such a system allows for old vines in the future.

What Could Have Been?

Masseto is one of those rare, iconic wines that once it is tasted it often times enraptures the wine drinker to the point that it has inspired hardcore fans around the world; and with only around 3,000 cases made, these devotees of Masseto scour the globe to find a case here and a case there to experience a wine that can somehow display the decadence of Merlot while bringing an energy and finesse that brings it to a whole other level. But just imagine if Tchelistcheff decided to blend the single vineyard site into Ornellaia, not going with his gut of making a separate bottling despite the world at the time not needing another Merlot wine. Many people have those moments where they go against their inner voice to conform to the world around them just to have that regret nag away at them for the rest of their lives. And now that same spirit is being continued with the Frescobaldi family that has never shied away from any challenge; keeping the independence of each property while giving the resources, no matter how significant, that each needs to keep it evolving to its next auspicious stage. Whether it is rehabilitating prisoners on an Italian penal island by having them grow grapes and make wine, or the continual raising of the bar for one of the greatest Italian Merlot wines, the Frescobaldi family, led by the unstoppable Lamberto Frescobaldi, is making sure that there will be no regrets and certainly the next stage of Masseto is making that loud and clear.

Wines are listed in the order that Axel Heinz had them poured and hence why a couple wines are not in chronological order. Massetino will be priced 40% less than Masseto.

2017 Massetino:  92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc. The 2017 vintage is known as one of the hottest and driest vintages in recent history in Bolgheri and Axel noted that any estate can make a good wine during a great vintage but the top properties show what a vineyard is made of during the toughest vintages which was the case for this Massetino’s inaugural year. An aromatically enchanting nose with wild flowers and spice, rich dark fruit on the palate with hints of earth and a brightness that seemed to defy its luscious fruit. Only 5,000 bottles were made.

2014 Masseto: 100% Merlot. 2014 is a cooler vintage and it shows how Masseto is able to tease out an ethereal quality that is typically only reserved for the best Burgundy wines. The 2014 was picked one month later than the 2017 which indicates the contrast of these vintages. Although there was still plenty of juicy fruit, the wine is distinctive for its intense minerality and linear drive that had hints of fresh leather on its graceful finish.

2016 Masseto: 100% Merlot. A great example of what Masseto does best with a highly concentrated, big wine with broad shoulders and lots of black cherry fruit and baking spice yet leaves the taster with a sense of beauty and finesse; seems utterly impossible to have such a powerful wine leave one with such an impression but that is the magic of Masseto. 

2013 Masseto: 100% Merlot. 2013 is not as big as 2016 but it had delicious cassis fruit that was seductive and a hint of minerality could be sensed with complex layers of blackcurrant leaf and cigar box.  

2010 Masseto: 100% Merlot. A plethora of savory and sweet, with bacon fat and blackberry jam that was given shape by chiseled tannins and lingered in one’s head with smoldering earth.

2001 Masseto: 100% Merlot. The nose transported one to a meditative state with black truffles, wild thyme, fresh sage and plum pie that had finely laced tannins and kept opening in the glass revealing more aspects to this multi-dimensional wine; aromatically compelling wine that will always be remembered.