Le Macchiole Messorio 2017

Professional Ratings

• 97 James Suckling
  This wine shows beautiful clarity and class on the nose with roses, tar, currants, green and black olives and plums. It’s exceptionally fine-tannined with such polish and finesse. So sophisticated and intense for this vintage. Long, chewy finish, yet this is mouth-filling and caressing. Pure merlot. Try after 2024.
• 96 Wine & Spirits

  The merlot for Messorio seems to have emerged from the parched summer of 2017 unscathed, retaining scents of violet and lavender and sur-prisingly bright acidity that enlivens the rich, purple-fruit tones. The tannins, though initially prominent, begin to soften with air as the wine takes on notes of black olive and licorice. This should continue to flesh out with cellar time.

• 96 Jeb Dunnuck

  The 2017 Messorio is also forward with a floral perfume of red apple, candied plum, mocha, and roses. It is full-bodied but lifts weightlessly off the palate and delivers a stony mineral flourish. It also has freshness on the finish without having any harsh edges, with ripe but present tannic structure. It is drinking beautifully now or will drink well over the next two decades. Rating: 96+

• 95 Decanter
  The harvest of Merlot for Messorio in 2017 commenced on 17 August and finished on 7 September, producing around 12,000 bottles. Since 2015 it has been fermented with selected yeasts in concrete vessels at a moderate 26°C then aged in 100% new French oak with a light and progressive toastiness. The result is a slightly herbal Merlot with precise sweet cassis and plum fruit and depth of star anise and leather. Dense on the palate with red fruit flavours, it imposes powerful yet ripe tannins with crisp acidity and balanced alcohol.
• 94 Wine Spectator

  A beam of black cherry and blackberry permeates this red, accented by wild rosemary, thyme, iron and oak spice. Beautifully balanced and graceful, this should begin to hit its stride in two to three years, once the oak is absorbed. Merlot. Best from 2023 through 2040.

• 91 Wine Enthusiast

  Aromas of French oak, grilled porcini, menthol and baked plum take shape in the glass. Full-bodied and densely concentrated, the jammy palate offers toasted nut, roasted coffee bean, vanilla, dried cherry and prune alongside compact, close-grained tannins that clench the close. Give the tannins another year or two to unwind then drink sooner rather than later to capture the remaining fruit and freshness.