The 2018 Messorio is an attractive wine, but it also feels like the most marked by the cooler style of the year. Readers will find a mid-weight Messorio endowed with striking inner sweetness and perfume, if not quite the textural richness that is the norm here. I have seen even the more delicate of Messorios blossom beautifully over time, and suspect that will be the case here as well. The purity of the fruit is remarkable.

This is very complex, offering tobacco, brown sugar, black olives and currants. It’s full-bodied, yet tight and layered, with very fine tannins and a long, structured finish. Hints of new wood complement the long, cool fruit and phenolics. Give this three or four years to open. Try after 2025.

Le Macchiole's 2018 Messorio is soft and rich with impressive depth and intensity, all delivered with the softness that only the Merlot grape can manage. This important wine unfolds first to rich cherry and blackberry and then yields softly to secondary notes of spice, baker's chocolate and toasted almond. There is some youthful tightness in the mouth, with Merlot tannins that are hitched to firmness and softness, while showing impressive length all the while. The mouthfeel is most impressive, thanks to its seamless and supple nature that glides smoothly over the palate.

There is a more reserved aromatic profile initially with the 2018 Messorio, but it is no less complex and unfolds with layers with wet stone, fresh herbes de Provence, red plum, red raspberry, and menthol. The palate is medium to full bodied and has a more linear approach that is attractive and lends energetic drive. A more compact wine at this stage, it will need time to open, although it is refreshing and has lovely mineral texture with a polished feel. Drink 2024-2044. One of the benchmark wineries of Bolgheri, Eugenio Campolmi and Cinzia Merli purchased the estate in 1983 and planted their first four hectares of vines. Today, Cinzia Merli is joined by her two sons, Elia and Mattia, who work together to run the estate. Their holdings now consist of ten parcels, eight in Bolgheri and two in Bibbona, just to the north. In the vineyards, they practice organic farming while also implementing some biodynamic practices. Paleo Rosso’s first vintage was in 1989, before becoming exclusively dedicated to Cabernet Franc in 2001. Today, they make some of the most compelling ranges of single varietal wines. Messorio is dedicated to Merlot, Scrio to Syrah, and Paleo Rosso to Cabernet Franc.

According to Cinzia Merli, producer of Le Macchiole, 2018 vintage is not her favourite. 'We can't compare it with the more red fruited 2017 and the concentration of 2019 is another matter,' she said. Having said that, this is one of her best Messorios of the last few years. On the nose it comes across as slightly herbal, with the leafy character of Merlot, loaded with restrained cassis, lead pencil and earthy clay minerality. Open-knit aromas of menthol are also present. The attack is smooth and velvety, with huge presence on the mid-palate where oaky tannins are still present. Full and refreshing with extremely youthful character.