The 2020 Masseto is superb. Bright and vibrant in the glass, the 2020 offers up an exciting mix of dark-toned fruit, mocha, spice, leather, tobacco, cedar and a kiss of French oak. Lively acids and Franc aromatics lend vibrancy throughout. The Franc is so evident today. This is exceptionally polished and sophisticated, albeit a touch slender relative to most years. In 2020, Masseto is more finesse than power. Antonio Galloni, August 2023.

Intense aromas of ripe herbs, plums, green coffee beans, and hazelnuts. Turns to crushed berries and orange peel. Full-bodied with superb concentration and fine, velvety tannins that run the length of the wine. It's big but agile and gorgeous. Merlot. What a wine! Best after 2030. August 2023.

The 2020 Masseto, 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, is medium to deep garnet-purple in color. It slowly emerges from the glass with notes of plum preserves, blueberry compote, and chocolate-covered cherries, leading to a gorgeous perfume of star anise, lilacs, mocha, and tar. The palate is full-bodied and super-concentrated, with layer upon layer of black fruit preserves and savory accents, framed by wonderfully ripe, rounded tannins and beautifully knit acidity, finishing very long and opulent. This is classic Masseto! Lisa Perrotti-Brown Aug 2023 - The Wine Independent

A deep ruby/magenta hue, the 2020 Masseto is a highly compelling wine, offering seductive and seamless aromas of dark chocolate, Marasca cherry liqueur, crushed stones, lavender, sage oil, and vanilla bean. Full-bodied, with fantastic concentration and purity and even more depth and richness, it has plush tannins and fresh acidity that continues to weave through the wine, with notes of espresso crema and salted caramel that accent the palate and an incredibly long and even finish. Comparing it to the 2013, which was tasted alongside, this has more refinement in its texture and is one of the truly spectacular wines from this vintage. Drink 2028-2050. Audrey Frick, January 2024.

A deep ruby/magenta hue, the 2020 Masseto is a highly compelling wine, offering seductive and seamless aromas of dark chocolate, Marasca cherry liqueur, crushed stones, lavender, sage oil, and vanilla bean. Full-bodied, with fantastic concentration and purity and even more depth and richness, it has plush tannins and fresh acidity that continues to weave through the wine, with notes of espresso crema and salted caramel that accent the palate and an incredibly long and even finish. Comparing it to the 2013, which was tasted alongside, this has more refinement in its texture and is one of the truly spectacular wines from this vintage. Drink 2028-2050. The adjacent sister property to Ornellaia, the Masseto estate in Bolgheri produces benchmark wines based on Merlot, with its first vintage in 1987. As noted in this report’s introduction and in the Ornellaia profile, 2023 saw the departure of long-time winemaker and estate director Axel Heinz. Winemaker Gaia Cinnirella is staying on and shows tremendous promise for the estate. Their new winery, which debuted in 2018, was designed by architects Hikaru Mori and Maurizio Zito of the ZitoMori Studio, who named it “The Quarry.” It’s an impressive design, with the exterior blending into the landscape, only to reveal its true grandeur upon entering the winery beneath. One feature of the new winery has been moving away from using stainless steel, which they found could contribute to reductive qualities. Instead, 20 to 25% of the wine is now fermented in concrete tanks, with the remainder in oak barrels. The concrete also takes on some of the qualities of barrel fermentation, without adding the additional flavors that barrels would contribute. The oldest vines are currently approaching 40 years old, and in newer vintages, Cabernet Franc they planted more recently has been making its way into the wines. My tasting took place at the winery with Gaia Cinnirella.

A high-flying sleek wine wine for this vintage that's built to last. Masseto 2020 reminds me of the 2000 with its milk and mint freshness, outstanding elegance and supple texture. It's a lavish wine with a magic balance between elegance and structured power. Scents of white chocolate, milk chocolate, coconut, clove and restrained cassis and leafy aromas lead to a palate full of restrained estery aromas and smooth, silky tannins. The massive mid-palate showcases super-concentration of fruit, with savouriness and warmth, then a long tobacco, graphite and mineral finish with excellent integration of an almost zesty acidity. Naturally fermented in concrete vats and aged for 24 months in 100% new French oak.

Raspberry plum colour, smooth and tender tannins, with fragrant, toasted cumin notes, deliciously drawn out flavours of supple raspberry, pomegranate, damson puree, with iris flowers as it opens. The whole thing is mouthwatering, juicy, intense and concentrated, utterly captivating. The Cabernet Franc amount has increased since its introduction with the 2019 vintage, and with it we are seeing a slight sculpting of the Masseto character. Harvest finished by September 16. This was a hot summer, followed by cooler temperatures during harvest, before heat arrived again mid September. 100% new oak, with 12 months in bottle after barrel ageing before release. Frescobaldi family owners, with Gaia Cinnirella winemaker since the 2021 harvest, so overseeing the ageing of this wine, with director Axel Heinz (with one of his final full vintages before heading to Bordeaux in 2023).

Raspberry plum colour, smooth and tender tannins, with fragrant, toasted cumin notes, deliciously drawn out flavours of supple raspberry, pomegranate, damson puree, with iris flowers as it opens. The whole thing is mouthwatering, juicy, intense and concentrated, utterly captivating. The Cabernet Franc amount has increased since its introduction with the 2019 vintage, and with it we are seeing a slight sculpting of the Masseto character. Harvest finished by September 16. This was a hot summer, followed by cooler temperatures during harvest, before heat arrived again mid September. 100% new oak, with 12 months in bottle after barrel ageing before release. Frescobaldi family, winemaker Eleonora Marconi and director Axel Heinz (with one of his final full vintages before heading to Bordeaux in 2023). Jane Anson, July 2023.

The 2020 Masseto now sees new DNA with a touch of Cabernet Franc added to this celebrated Merlot-based icon wine. This is a vintage of enormous richness and density, and everything about the wine is taken up a notch or two (including the bottle glass weight and the 15% alcohol content). But Axel Heinz and his team are well prepared for the hot vintages like 2020, and changes to farming and canopy management ensure even ripening. This wine is always hard to analyze in its youth. It needs many more years to soften and flesh out. Give it time.

Merlot plus some Cabernet Franc. Harvest 14–16 September. Spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts at 25–28 °C, with pumping over two or three times a day and délestages where necessary. The total time in tank ranged from 21 to 28 days. Malolactic fermentation in barriques, with 100% new oak, keeping the various batches separate for the first 12 months of ageing. Subsequently, the wines were blended and returned to barriques for another year, totalling 24 months’ oak ageing. After bottling, the wine was aged for a further 12 months before release. Highly concentrated on both the nose and the palate, this is chock-full of opulent black fruit. The tannins are highly polished and allow the fruit to take centre stage. This has a fleshy breadth but equally impressive depth. The wood spice is generous but matched by the fruit. Very seductive but perfectly balanced with bright acids keeping everything in check. (TP)

Intense and full on the nose, fragrant with ripe black fruit, floral aspects and soft spicing. Round and full on the palate, it's rich and muscular yet tight and neatly coiled with a liquorice, graphite, pepper, cinnamon and clove tang that gives this immediate but enjoyable spice. Feels well worked, juicy with high acidity that lifts the palate and gives freshness and brightness alongside really quite mouthwatering strawberry and raspberry fruit with such captivating dried floral and bitter orange rind aspects. Tannins are super fine and so well integrated yet this maintains a grip and hold from the very beginning through to a long and sustained finish. Nuanced and complex, still packing a punch in terms of power, but this feels sophisticated, suave, purposeful and controlled. Not elegant, this is more of a caged animal with it's full potential yet to be unveiled, but it is classy. A truly delicious wine with so much purity and sense of place. Malolactic fermentation in 100% new barroques, with each batch kept separate for the first 12 months of ageing before being blended and returned to barriques for another year, totalling 24 months. The wine was then aged for a further 12 months in bottle before being released. Winemaker Eleonora Marconi. Drinking Window: 2026 - 2045
Tasted by: Georgina Hindle (at Bordeaux, 01 Aug 2023)