The winery’s 2001 vintage catapulted the winery onto the international map, where it has stayed ever since as a red-hot commodity for auction houses and discerning collectors. The undertones on the nose remind me of walking through the Masseto vineyard during a cool summer’s morning.” “The 2001 is a perfect 100-point wine and arguably one of the greatest wines ever made in Tuscany … It’s balanced with fascinating rosemary and dark fruit character that turns to plums and light chocolate. “I believe the best vintage is the monumental 2001,” says James Suckling. He actually helped create the wine in the 1980s when he tasted a vat of pure merlot with then-owner Lodovico Antinori and told him the wine could be “the Petrus of Tuscany” if he bottled it separately. James Suckling was one of the first American wine critics to recognize the winery’s magical merlot, having awarded three Masseto vintages – 2001, 2011, and 2016 – perfect 100-point scores. The winery produces superb, pure merlot vintages that consistently taste fresh yet structured, soft yet powerful. This unbelievable demand and superb quality make it one of the cult wines of a generation and the Wine of the Decade for. Opening prices for new vintages reach as much as $800 a bottle, but the wines sell out from the winery within weeks. Before that, the wine was produced from its vineyards in the cellars of Bolgheri’s famous estate of Ornellaia, which also shares the same owners, the Florentine Frescobaldi family. It wasn’t until last year that Masseto finally opened its own winery. Set under the sunny Bolgheri region of Italy, Masseto’s iconic vineyard stretches across a gently sloping valley, where greyish-blue clay lies underfoot and the Tyrrhenian Sea ricochets light across the vines. It even sells a large proportion of its production through Bordeaux wine merchants. Raisin with a layer of alcohol and bitter dark chocolate notes withīright acidity on a thick tongue coating finish.If there is one winery in Tuscany that contends with the chateaux in Bordeaux and Burgundy, it has to be Masseto. With the dessert course that included a selection of flourlessĬhocolate lava cake, tiramisu, creme brulee, a chocolate banana breadĬake and selection of fresh fruits and gelato.īlackish garnet colored, full bodied, intense, unctuous black berry Le Ragose Amarone della Valpolicella 2006 Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Sangiovese 2007 Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Sangiovese 1997 Polished, with greater balance and complexity, turning to a long While the '07 was brighter and more forward with its more livelyĪcidity, the older vintage came across as slightly more subdued, Initially a bit closed it opened up quite a bit Both exhibitedĬoncentrated bright black and red berry fruits with the '97 comingĪcross as more layered in earthy leather, tobacco leaf and tones ofĬreosote and cassis. It was also lessīalanced and polished and a bit bolder but more obtuse. The common terroir profile and character wereĪpparent with vintage specificities being the distinguishableīrighter and more expressive than the older '97. Interesting exposition of terroir in this vintage comparison of this Included seared prime Rib-eye steak with asparagus and red potatoes,īaby New Zealand rack of Lamb, and Risotto with jumbo Lump Crab with To dinner we were served an antipasta course. We closed the evening with an Le Ragose Amarone della Valpolicella 2006 to complement the dessert course. Clearly the highlight of the evening was a bottle of ultra-premium Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Masseto Toscana IGT Merlot 2001. Currently they hold a 2 glass Wine Spectator Best ofĭan and Ernie then dipped into the wine list to select a Château Smith Haut Lafitte Pessac-Léognan Bordeaux 1996 that we know well, in a large format magnum. The Italian Village wine cellar boasts over 30,000 bottles from over 1200 different labelsĪs Jared is working to restore it to its historical Spectator GrandĪward eminence. Jared matched that from his extensive winelist with a 2007 for a mini-horizontal comparison tasting. Readers of this column know I have a very sparse collection of Italian wines in our cellar but I pulled and brought from home BYOB a vintage Sangiovese Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva from 1997. Group for a dinner featuring a selection of classic wines. Supports Italian Village's three restaurants, we returned with our wine In his role as the new Wine Director of the extraordinary cellar that A gathering of the 'Pour Boys' for a wine dinner at Chicago's classic Italian Village Vivere Restaurant included a tour of the legendary wine cellar and some premier cellar selections.įollowing a recent visit to meet Jared Gelband
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