More For Masseto

by Westgarth Wines December 03, 2019

Masseto, widely regarded as an exemplar Italian Merlot producer, will now have its own winery. Masseto began as an offshoot of the Super Tuscan Ornellaia. In fact, the original bottling in 1986 was labeled "Merlot dell'Ornellaia". It had been found that the single vineyard Merlot harvested for Ornellaia was so exceptional that they saved some to be bottled as Masseto. Now, the estate will truly be regarded as an individual, and will even begin bottling a second wine named Massetino. Estate director Axel Heinz chose the name so that those who buy fine wine would understand its connection to the estate, even noting that a parcel of the vineyard was named "Massetino" for its diminutive size. The wine will have a slightly different makeup, including 8% Cabernet Franc in its opening year. Masseto is made in incredibly small amounts, and the lucky few who manage to try it are often hooked. The estate truly deserved to have its own dedicated winery, and it will be exciting to watch it continue to evolve!

Related article here

Photo @enoteca_quattroruote