De Masseto is wijn van grote klasse, gemaakt van 100% Merlot druiven.
Deze wijn is evenals de Ornellaia van dit domein wereldwijd zeer gevraagd. De vraag overtreft het aanbod vele malen.
De druiven zijn afkomstig van de Masseto- en Vigna-Vecchia-wijngaarden, die zich bevinden tegen de hellingen (op ca. 100 meter hoogte) van de heuvels bij Bolgheri in de Maremma, in het zuiden, nabij de kust van Toscane. Deze wijngaarden profiteren van een perfecte ligging, vlak bij de zee. De wijnstokken staan op een uitstekende bodem van klei en stenen. Deze stenen nemen overdag de warmte van de zon goed op, om de druiven tijdens de nachten extra warmte te bieden.
De met de hand geplukte druiven worden handmatig op kwaliteit geselcteerd. De fermentatie geschiedt, gedurende een periode van ca. 25 dagen, deels op eikenhout en deels in roestvrijstalen tanks. Vervolgens geschiedt de rijping gedurende een periode van 20 maanden op barriques van nieuw Frans eikenhout. Na 12 maanden wordt de blend gemaakt van de wijn die is gegist in de stalen tanks en de wijn die is gegist in eiken vaten. Vervolgens wordt het rijpingsproces nog vervolgd in de Frans eikenhouten barriques. Voordat de wijn op de markt komt wordt het rijpingsproces nog gedurende 16 maanden op de fles voortgezet in de kelders van het domein. Deze wijn is nu op dronk, maar zal zich op de fles, de komende jaren, in kwaliteit verder ontwikkelen.
Deze robijnrode wijn heeft een intens aroma van rood fruit, zoals pruimen, jam en hints van chocolade. De smaak is vol, elegant, veel rood fruit, een perfecte tannine en een afdronk van een perfecte lengte.
Drie flessen in originele houten Masseto kist. - Let op de prijs is per fles!
James Suckling: 98/100 punten
The clarity of the ripe blackcurrants, black cherries and flowers in the nose is entrancing. Lavender, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, silky tannins that run long and straight through the wine, providing brightness and focus. Goes on for minutes. Strength with finesse Drink after 2024, but already wonderful to taste.
Robert Parker: 97/100 punten
The Masseto 2017 Masseto puts on another exhilarating, knock-out performance for the third year in a row. The Masseto vineyard is a triangular-shaped plot tucked in at the back of the same property that houses the Ornellaia vineyards and winery. 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 vines are planted at an altitude of 80 to 100 meters above sea level in blue clay soils that are unique to Bolgheri. 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. It's a little garden of Merlot Eden. The center of the vineyard now is home to the new Masseto winery and an adjacent tasting room built into a pre-existing farmhouse. This wine was made in the old winery (the existing Ornellaia winery). 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. The wine then goes into bottle for 12 months before its release. 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. It is powerful, but that's always the case with Masseto (this vintage records a 15.5% alcohol content). 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). Perhaps, what this vintage lacks is that profound varietal character that we saw in recent vintages like 2016 and 2015. 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. Those distinctive notes of macchia mediterranea (wild bush) that I always associate with Masseto are less present in this vintage. You feel the oak tannins on the finish with toast and vanilla that will certainly shed as the wine ages. In fact, I went back to taste the wine 12 hours later, and they had already softened considerably.
