2019 Masseto Toscana IGT 750 ml

On a visit to the legendary Ornellaia estate last year, we were awestruck by the Masseto hill, where vineyards produce some of the most precious and ageworthy wine on the planet. The hill was planted to Merlot in the 1980s at the direction of legendary winemaker André Tchelistcheff, and now, with winemaking overseen by Right Bank Bordeaux guru Michel Rolland, Masseto stands equal to any collectible wine in the world. 

Lodovico Antinori’s inspiration for his first Bordeaux-style wine was his own cousin’s Sassicaia, so he set about creating a competitor that would also consist largely of Cabernet Sauvignon. 

But his property, Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, had one anomalous 17-acre section: a hilltop that Tchelistcheff knew wasn’t ideal for Cabernet Sauvignon. Antinori was ambivalent, since Merlot was all but unheard of in Tuscany. Finally, in 1984, he followed Tchelistcheff’s advice, and the Masseto hill was planted—purely to Merlot. 

Early vintages of Masseto won devoted fans and collectors. In 1991, the consulting winemaker role passed to Rolland, and the 2001 vintage earned perfect scores from both Wine Spectator and James Suckling, who concluded his review by saying: “Enjoy this for the rest of your life.” 

Now owned by the Frescobaldi family, little has changed at Masseto. Historically composed of 100% Merlot—the 2019 is the first vintage that includes a small portion of Cabernet Franc—Masseto is treated like a priceless Pomerol: It’s hand-harvested, hand-sorted and destemmed, and fermented mostly in concrete tanks, with grapes from a few parcels going into barrel instead. After one year, the wine is blended then goes back into barrique for another year. After one more year in bottle, Masseto gets released.  

No matter the year, Masseto is a cellar-defining masterpiece.