Masseto
The gem in the Frescobaldi family's crown.
For over 700 year, the Frescobaldi family has worked to develop and celebrate the diversity of the Tuscan terroir. Proud owners of some of the most prestigious vineyards in the region, the family has always associated tradition, experience and innovation with creativity and the quest for excellence.
Commitment to viticulture, and more generally speaking to agriculture, has always been a key characteristic of the Frescobaldi family’s tradition, who have been producing wine in Tuscany since the early 14th century. The family's ancestors also include illustrious writers, explorers, musicians, bankers, bishops and politicians. In the 15th and 16th century, this Florentine family supplied wine to the English and many European courts, including the papal one.
Tuscany's wealth lies in the diversity of its terroirs. The Frescobaldi family makes it a point of honor to ensure that their estates and vineyards are a perfect expression of their diversity, while respecting nature and authenticity. They always seek to maintain their core identity and autonomy of each estate so that the wines reflect their respective characteristics and authenticity from the part they are produced.
Among these estates, the one we are talking about today is Masseto, a unique and truly magical place. A land blessed by the presence of blue clay, surrounded by forests and caressed by fresh sea breezes. Overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, Masseto is located near the tiny village of Bolgheri.
It is in that exquisite place that the terroir wins out over the grape varieties and the blue clays of the Pliocene era to tell their beautiful story. A few million years ago, the marine substrated gradually and turned into blue clay, which came to the surface after thousands of years of erosion. The shells and fossils embedded in the clay are witness of nature’s evolution and gifts it can bring along.
Masseto covers only six hectares, where passion and dedication in conjunction with talent and skill create an exceptional 100% Merlot, the result of an obsession to detail and a terroir solely dedicated to growing the most exceptional ingredients for this very fine wine.
Because of its composition and the exceptional quality of its terroir, Masseto is often referred to as "the Petrus of Italy". Masseto was once part of the Tenuta dell'Ornellaia estate and is now considered the ultimate reference amongst Tuscan wines. Today it is vinified on a separate site, built specifically for this purpose. This is the result of the Frescobaldi family's desire to keep the two flagship vineyards strictly separate.
The newly built winery, chai Masseto is the physical monolithic symbol of this exquisite wine, as is the huge wall of rocks that mark the boundary between the estates. The building illustrates and affirms the discretion but also the strong identity of the Masseto brand. A unique contrast between the delicacy of the surroundings and the solemn character, so well represented by both, cave and temple, of the interior of this exquisite estate.
The structure of the underground chai interacts in perfect symbiosis with the surrounding land and vineyard: it incorporates a winemaking circuit designed to work by gravity and takes full advantage of the natural insulating properties of the clay.
The grapes are sorted by hand on the covered roof of the chai and then gently transferred, again, no machines used, to the concrete reservoirs under the roof. Each with a capacity of 65 hectoliters, echo the union of the interior/exterior contrasts through the visual play of their juxtaposition. Their inside design, in the shape of a tulip, jagged towards the outside, is designed to favor the gentlest possible extraction. The maceration phase lasts from 21 to 28 days. Malolactic fermentation begins in never used before, brand new oak barrels, with the different batches kept separate during the first 12 months of maturation. Thereafter, the wines are blended and reintroduced into barrels for an additional year, which totals to 24 months.
In the chai, intervention stays minimal. These remarkably concentrated grapes do not require any sophisticated vinification but simple operations. The only purpose of human intervention is to accompany the expression of the richness without any heaviness or roughness. The winemaking philosophy is to accompany rather than to force the process, letting the wine guide you until it finds its perfect balance after 24 months of ageing. In this way, each Masseto vintage expresses its unique character and reveals the unparalleled personality of its terroir.
The center piece of this exceptional chai, is without any doubts the wine library for the estate, the caveau Masseto. Bottles of each vintage year since 1986 are carefully kept there, in perfect conditions, each one in its own stainless steel mesh case. The memory of past vintages is at the heart of the cradle of future vintages, the ultimate metaphor for the beautiful memoir of the estate.
Let's proceed now to the wine tasting of the 2018 vintage with Christophe Montaud - Chef Sommelier at The House of Grauer: "A beautiful dark red color with ruby highlights reflecting in the glass. The nose offers a broad and intense bouquet, with notes of cherry, blackberry and plum, enhanced by deep notes of dark chocolate and mushrooms.
Powerful and round in the palate, with a touch of elegant tannins presence. The finish is long and fresh, with a hint of dark fruit, spices, leather, tobacco and cocoa. A particularly classy version of Masseto, combining richness and refinement with balance.
A surprisingly rich vintage that only a few of us would have expected to find, due to the rather harsh weather conditions, Masseto 2018 once again rose the occasion and offers us an extraordinary vintage! A wine with great ageing potential that you will enjoy for years to come."
MASSETO - Toscana IGT - 2018 - Bottle of 75 cl
Login to your online account to reserve your item
or contact us at +41 22 552 2799