Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Messorio is a drop dead gorgeous wine. Warm summer temperatures have done their part to shape a soft and supple wine that feels like silk sheets against the palate. The bouquet is redolent of red fruit, bold cherry, leather, spice, tar, licorice and grilled herb. The youth of the wine allows you the perspective of contemplating each one of those aromas individually. They will, of course, reach greater harmony and integration as the wine continues its long evolution. This wine reflects beautifully on the magnificence of Merlot in Coastal Tuscany.
-
James Suckling
This is really fantastic with aromas of black olives, flowers and sandalwood. There's a clarity and precision to the wine. Full body, ultra-fine tannins and a chewy and structured finish. A muscular merlot with tone and tension. Better in 2017.
-
Wine Spectator
Ripe and expressive, featuring sweet cherry, plum, currant, leather and earth flavors married to mouthcoating tannins. Lush and fresh, yet firm and chewy on the long, compact finish. Very complex and powerful. Merlot. Best from 2017 through 2023.
-
Wine & Spirits
Cinzia Merli and her team harvest merlot for Messorio from the estate’s Puntone and Vignone vineyards, restricting yields to less than two pounds per plant. The wine fermented 25 days in a mix of stainless steel and large oak casks, and aged 20 months in barriques, about three-quarters of them new. Scents of violet lead into flavors of blackberry and cassis accented by notes of sweet spice and vanilla, the texture seamless. The fruit is impressively vibrant given the warm growing season, and the wine develops richness with time in the glass, adding notes of pine nuts, tobacco and dried leaves. This will be even more expressive after two or three years in the cellar, when it will be an elegant partner for dry-aged New York strip.
Long before it was fashionable, Eugenio Campolmi saw the potential of his homeland, buying his first vineyard in Bolgheri in 1975 baptised "Le Macchiole". In 1987, he hired famed oenologist Vittorio Fiore as a consultant before the later was joined by Luca d'Attoma for years later. In contrast to his renowned neighbors who focused on Bordeaux blends, Campolmi focused on achieving the purest expression of individual varieties, crafting distinct wines of unprecedented quality. Soon Le Macchiole joined Sassicaia, Ornellaia, and Guado al Tasso as one of the most prestigious estates in Bolgheri. Following Eugenio's death in 2002, his wife Cinzia Merli, who shares her husband's passion, took over at the estate. Working with Luca D'Attoma, she has carried on her husband's legacy by continuing to make great Tuscan wines.
Legendary in Italy for its Renaissance art and striking landscape, Tuscany is also home to many of the country’s best red wines. Sangiovese reigns supreme here, as either the single varietal, or a dominant player, in almost all of Tuscany’s best.
A remarkable Chianti, named for its region of origin, will have a bright acidity, supple tannins and plenty of cherry fruit character. From the hills and valleys surrounding the medieval village of Montalcino, come the distinguished and age-worthy wines based on Brunello (Sangiovese). Earning global acclaim since the 1970s, the Tuscan Blends are composed solely of international grape varieties or a mix of international and Sangiovese. The wine called Vine Nobile di Montepulciano, composed of Prognolo Gentile (Sangiovese) and is recognized both for finesse and power.