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Viinin Kuvailu
The Story
Masseto was born ‘almost by chance’ in 1986 when it was decided to vinify the Merlot from the Masseto vineyard alone as it ‘promised well’. This small, exceptional and legendary cru has soon become a collector’s item sold in auctions all over the world. The first vintage was called very simply ‘Merlot’ but, from 1987, it has taken on the name of its vineyard ‘Masseto’.
The Masseto vineyard is a unique place. Blessed with the generosity of a Mediterranean climate, this small vineyard enjoys breath-taking views, which stretch to the Tuscan coast, and a mosaic of different soils including an exceptional presence of grey clay. The gentle breezes coming off the sea during the war summer months, the intensity of the sunlight and the specificity of the unique soils, allow the vines to develop and ripen gradually and contribute to granting Masseto its enchanting combination of freshness and ripeness.
The wine is the synthesis of its singular 7 hectare vineyard formed of three types of soil. At the top of the hill, at around 120 metres above sea level, the loosest ground is made up of clay and sand with numerous pebbles and, this contributes to the elegant nature of the wine. In the sloping part of the vineyard (with about a 10% gradient), grey clay predominates and gives the wine its structural backbone. Lastly, the lower rows grow on less clayey soil which lends the wine its fullness, warmth and generosity.
The bunches, hand harvested in 15kg crates, were carefully sorted by hand on a double sorting table before and after destemming and then subjected to a gentle crushing. Six different lots were vinified separately. Fermentation took place in both steel and wood tanks, followed by 15-20 days maceration at a temperature between 25 and 30° C. Afterwards, malolactic fermentation took place in 100% new oak barrique, and the different lots were kept separate for the first 12 months of maturation. The wine was then blended and reintroduced into the barrels for another year, making a total of 24 months. After bottling, the wine was aged for an additional 12 months prior to release.
Tenuta dell'Ornellaia makes outstanding wines even in poor vintages - better than any other. In the capable hands of winemaker Thomas Duroux and consultant Michel Rolland, the estate continues its long-standing, stellar record of world-class wine production. Even the estate's "second" wines demonstrate high quality grape growing and flawless production methods. Located in Tuscany's tiny coastal DOC of Bolgheri, the estate was one of the first to plant vines in the area. With producers like Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia, Antinori, Grattamacco, and Le Macchiole among others, Bolgheri is the hotbed of winemaking momentum in Toscana.
With the same name as the winery, a reference to the grove of flowering ash trees surrounding it, Ornellaia is the estate's principal wine. The 63 acres of predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with small plantings of Cabernet Franc vines, lie on elevated parcels composed of clay, gravel, and loam soils. The clones of diverse origins yield a rich palette of nuances. All grapes are destemmed, gently pressed, and introduced into either wooden or stainless steel fermentation vessels. Maceration takes place over a period of 25-32 days at a temperature not exceeding 30 degrees Celsius, during which time the wine completes its alcoholic fermentation. The juice remains unblended until the wines have spent approximately one year in small French barriques. The final cuvee is assembled to evoke the vinous finess of the Cabernet highlighted by ripe, aromatic notes of Merlot in an elegant yet firm style balancing fruit, acidity, oak, and tannic backbone.
The estate's Le Volte is a blend of Tuscan Sangiovese with Bordeaux's Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot that can be considered a "Young Ornellaia." They also produce Le Serre Nuove, the "second Ornellaia," and Masseto, one Bolgheri's greatest wines!
Wine Information
After the drought vintage 2017, winter 2018 seemed to indicate that things were getting back to the norm, with cold weather and even few days of snow which we had not seen for years. Things changed quickly from March onwards with one of the rainiest springs in Masseto’s history. At the same time temperatures, particularly in April, were higher than average, which led to a rapid vegetative growth, culminating in flowering which occurred one full week earlier than normal. Precise timing and presence of all our workforce was required to keep pace with the vines and operate shoot thinning and positioning of the canopy. While temperatures came back to the norm in May, the high amount of rain created a high level of disease pressure, especially for downy mildew, which put the nerves of vine growers to the test for the rest of the growing season. Only through perfect organization and capacity to enter the vineyard for spraying in the few days without rain was it possible to get control of the disease keeping canopies and grapes healthy.
In July mostly sunny and warm weather allowed for a little rest before véraison stepped in timely around the 22 July. August was warm with a bit of rain around the 15th, which prevented the appearance of any major hydric stress.
Sugars and acidity moved at a slow pace while berry sizes grew a bit more than usual.
Harvest started on 31st August with the youngest gobelet-trained vines and then stopped for one week until we started picking the older vines from the 6th September onwards. Differences between parcels within Masseto were particularly marked, leading to a very long harvest that was concluded only on 4th October and yielded 9 different vinification lots.
Vuosikerta 2018
ITALY 2018 - Evaluation Report
After the gloom of 2017, 2018 saw Italy bounce back, with abundant and healthy harvests in all major wine regions. The total harvest increased by 24% compared to the annus horribilis of 2017, which corresponds to an average year. Typically, picking began about a week later than the exceptionally early 2017 harvest.
Trentino-Alto Adige: 2018 saw a 23% increase in volume compared to the 2017 harvest. Heavy rains at the end of August threatened to compromise the harvest, but a return to warmer weather has allowed to produce healthy grapes. In Mezzacorona in Trentino, the reports from 2018 are extremely positive. Volumes are up 10% compared to average and even more compared to the two previous vintages. Budding took place two weeks later than usual, which made it possible to avoid the risk of spring frosts, which, together with balanced precipitation and continued warm and sunny weather, made it possible to create conditions ideal for a successful harvest. Picking began in mid-August with Chardonnay for Rotari wines and early indications of quality are good, with fresh, aromatic whites and elegant, well-balanced reds expected.
Veneto: After near-perfect conditions during the 2018 growing season, Prosecco producers are hailing this harvest as one of the best ever, certainly in terms of size, with Canevel reporting a ten percent increase in volume compared to 2017. A hot summer followed by a cooler period with some rain in the weeks preceding the harvest allowed the grapes to develop good levels of concentration and acidity. In Masi, volumes returned to average levels after the short 2017 harvest, increasing by ten percent compared to the previous year. The spring was warm and sunny, interspersed with periods of abundant rain, promoting good growth. In total, the precipitation was not higher than the seasonal average and the sparse clusters, due to poor flowering, allowed air to circulate freely around the grapes, which helped avoid the risk of mold. Quality is expected to be particularly high for Amarone from the Valpolicella region as cool, dry weather in September and October provided the ideal conditions for the grape drying process, while Soave also saw an average crop of healthy grapes harvested.
Friuli-Venezia Giulia: Friuli experienced a good harvest, with volumes up sharply compared to 2017. Record temperatures at the start of August accelerated the harvest and provided perfect conditions for picking ripe grapes and healthy. Masi began harvesting Pinot Grigio and Verduzzo on August 16 and completed picking Merlot and Refosco during the last week of September, recording a 15% increase in size compared to 2017.
Piedmont: Piedmont had an extremely successful 2018, with volumes up 35% compared to the previous year. The harvest has been a success across the region, with Barbera and Nebbiolo all looking good as well as the increasingly prominent Cortese.
Tuscany and Umbria: Chianti Classico was able to report an extremely successful vintage, with a regular growing season and no extreme weather events leading to a good harvest of healthy and ripe but fresh grapes. Antinori reports that the season passed without excessive heat and with enough rain to encourage plant growth. The harvest size was more normal following the shortages of 2017 and the wines themselves are elegant, with silky tannins, rather than large and powerful as they were in 2017. Bolgheri experienced wet conditions which presented a risk of mildew, which always required careful work in the vineyard.
Marche & Abruzzo: In Matelica, Bisci recorded a slight increase in production. A cold winter was followed by an average spring. The summer was relatively hot, but the extreme heat of 2017 was not felt and precipitation increased compared to the previous year, which helped avoid stress on the vines. The result was a good harvest of ripe and healthy grapes. To the south, in the Montepulciano country, La Valentina experienced a steady winter, with frequent spring and summer rainstorms in Montalcino being just as problematic, with a greater proportion of the crop lost to disease. Umbria saw a 40% increase in volume compared to the previous vintage
