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  • Country ranking ?

    3
  • Producer ranking ?

    2
  • Decanting time

    3h
  • When to drink

    from 2025
  • Food Pairing

    Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 100p

Masseto has pulled off back-to-back home runs. This is the first time that an Italian wine has earned 100 points in successive vintages. The 2016 Masseto is a thunderstorm of emotions, but it manages to keep them under perfect control. Like the 2015 Masseto before it, this vintage is a seamless wine of the highest pedigree. It represents an encore performance, continuing the string of successes that is bringing Italy to the forefront of the wine world. The first thing you'll notice is the thickness and concentration of the fruit that makes an immediate impact on all the senses, in terms of appearance, aroma and mouthfeel. There is no overstating the sheer power and richness of this iconic vintage of Italy's groundbreaking Merlot. Despite that considerable mass, this Masseto remains delicate and graceful. You gain better perspective as the wine opens in the glass and reveals deeper layers that were not immediately apparent on first nose: dark fruit, spice, sweet tobacco and black cherry. There is great tightness and laser focus to the fruit. I tasted the 2016 and 2015 vintages together for comparison when I scored this wine, and then I tasted this 2016 edition alone about a month later to confirm my impressions. These vintages are identical twins, two perfect wines.

Jeb Dunnuck 100p

Not yet released, the 2016 Masseto is sensational and unquestionably one of the greatest expressions of Merlot in the world. As always, it's 100% Merlot from a single vineyard that has a complex, diverse set of soils and expositions, causing harvest at times to be spread over as much as three weeks. Aged two years in oak, its deep purple color is followed by a powerful bouquet of black cherries, cassis, spicy oak, damp earth, green tobacco, and spring flowers. It's full-bodied, concentrated and masculine on the palate, with serious minerality, yet it stays flawlessly balanced with magical purity of fruit. With no shortage of concentration and structure, this primordial powerhouse of a Merlot needs 4-6 years of bottle age yet should evolve for decades. Merlot, or wine for that matter, doesn’t get any better!

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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!

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Wine Information

A common scenario in recent years, the winter of 2016 was characterized by abnormally warm weather with heavy rainfall in February. Budbreak took place on time in the last week of March. The abundance of water in the soil and the warm weather in April led to quick and normal vegetative vine growth. Towards May temperatures returned to normal, slowing the growthdown slightly, bringing about the flowering which took place in the last week of May with drysunny weather, perfect for a good fruit-set. The summer temperatures were in the norm with very little rain favouring a notable water stress towards the end of the ripening stage.

 

The usual mid-August holiday period storms were also absent, maintaining a state of hydric stress throughthe first part of the harvest, but luckily with temperatures that significantly cooled off at night,allowing the vines to recover from the daytime temperatures. Ripening went on steadily building up excellent phenolic potential and a balanced sugar/acidity ratio. Harvest started early on the 24th August with the younger vines. In September a few rain showers arrived, providing enough water in the soil to prevent the vines from shutting down. This allowed us to complete harvest under virtually perfect conditions. The older vines of ‘Masseto centrale’ took great advantage from this situation and continued their ripening until the third week of September. The last plots were picked on the 20th September.

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Vintage 2016

2016 is a textbook year for the Masseto, with a typically Tuscan coastal climate which saw a dry and sunny vegetative season, with abundant sunshine and the right one amount of rain for perfect ripeness. 2016 presents itself with a particular color intense and young, the intense aroma of ripe dark fruit blends with subtle cocoa notes spices. On the palate, the rich and dense structure of ripe and silky tannins is balanced by a fruity note sensual and vibrant and with a lively acidity that keeps the long finish clean and full-bodied.

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Latest Pro-tasting notes

13 tasting notes

Tasting note

color

Deep and Ruby red

ending

Long, Pure and Lingering

flavors

Blackberry, Cranberry, Blueberry, Vanilla, Toasty and Cedar

nose

Intense, Complex and Rich

recommend

Yes

taste

Average in Acidity, Warming, Perfectly balanced, Developing, Medium-bodied, Round, Ripe, Elegant, Dry and Silky tannins

Verdict

Sophisticated and Excellent

Written Notes

 Served blind. Liquorice, blackberries, some spices, dark fruits, liquorice notes nose.Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, blackberries, anise, dark fruits, liquorice, rich, long finish. 

  • 94p

Rich and solidly built, this red features black cherry, plum, cedar, vanilla and toasty oak aromas and flavors. A line of refined tannins marks the finish, yet overall this is balanced, remarkably fresh and expressive. 

  • 96p

Good looking normal size bottle and in an perfect condition. Colour is ruby red and deep. On the nose it is intense, rich and complex. The taste is elegant, ripe, round, fruity, perfumed, and dry, warming, with silky tannins, and average in acidity, medium-bodied, with perfectly balanced structure and developing. On the palate it is layered and has cranberry, vanilla, toasty, new-oak, floral, cedar, balsamic, blackberry, blueberry and chocolate flavours. The finish is long, pure and lingering. This wine is sophisticated and excellent. I paid around 500-1k€ a bottle. Perfectly stored bottles are still very worthy and will last well for another 20-30 years and decant at least 45min before tasting. Too expensive for quality. I do recommend.

  • 96p

This is so solid and powerful with incredible vertical dense that goes down and down on the palate. Compacted and thick with caressing and polished tannins that are powerful yet refined. Super concentration yet agile and energetic. This is a wine that needs time to come together and resolve all of its amazing components. Reminds me of the legendary 2001. Try after 2023.

  • 100p
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Information

Origin

Bolgheri, Tuscany

Glass time

2h

Other wines from this producer

La Serre Nuove dell'Ornellaia

Le Serre Nuove dell'Ornellaia

Le Volte dell'Ornellaia

Le Volte dell’Ornellaia

Massetino

Ornellaia

Ornellaia Bianco

Ornus dell’Ornellaia

Poggio alle Gazze dell'Ornellaia

Inside Information

Seven different lots were vinified during the harvest. The bunches, hand harvested in 15kg crates,were evaluated and selected by hand on a double sorting table before and after destemmingand then subjected to soft crushing. Each single lot of the vineyard was vinified separately.Fermentation took place in both steel and wood tanks, small portions of vineyards in barrel. Fermentation was followed by 15-20 days maceration at a temperature between 25 and 30° C. Afterwards, malolactic fermentation began in 100% new oak barrique barrels, while keeping thevarious lots separate for the first 12 months of ripening.

Subsequently, the wine was blended and reintroduced once again into the barrels for another year, for a total of 24 months. The ageing process then continued in bottle for another 12 months before being released on the market.

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