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Viinin Kuvailu
The Story
Messorio is our personal interpretation of one of the grape varieties most commonly grown in the Bolgheri area: Merlot.
Though grown on the estate since the first year of production, Merlot was made into a single varietal wine after many years, in a limited production of 300 bottles of vintage 1994.
We have two vineyards planted with Merlot grapes: Puntone, planted in 1993, and Vignone, planted in 1999, both of them featuring excellent pedoclimatic characteristics, including a good percentage of clay and sand, which allow for wines of great complexity and finesse.
Each vineyard gives different wine styles: Merlot grapes from the Puntone vineyard give wines with fresh aromas and elegant tannins, backed by acidity which lends the wine a more vertical style; the wines produced from the Vignone vineyard are, instead, more complex, with intense fruity notes and a more structured tannic texture, supported by excellent minerality.
The name Messorio has ancient origins. It refers to the ancient Tuscan practice of wheat harvesting. We chose it because harvesting has always been the most important time of the year in the countryside: once it meant wheat, now, to us, it is all about grapes.
Vuosikerta 1998
Italy/Barolo/Barbaresco/Excellent to Exceptional – A vastly underrated vintage, 1998 had the misfortune of being sandwiched between 1997 (a vintage that was overrated) and the stellar 1999. 1998 offers everything you want in a manual Barolo or Barbaresco – nice concentration, firm tannins and precise acidity. In fact, it is the acidity of these wines that, in my opinion, carries these wines, keeping a wonderful freshness and elegance to these wines. This is not the most concentrated vintage of the last decade (1999, 2001 and 2004 produced much more powerful wines), but there is admirable depth of fruit and great balance and finesse. Most of the best Barbaresco bottlings as well as many 1998 Barolos drink beautifully now, while some of the best Barolos will provide another 10-12 years of enjoyment.