Vineyards Magazine

Masseto, first released in 1986, continues its longstanding tradition of unveiling each new vintage as the summer ends and autumn begins. From the Tuscan coastline overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, the 2022 vintage is now introduced.

The 2022 growing season unfolded beneath the auspices of a quintessential winter, whereby the cool temperatures remained loyal to the expected cadence of the first quarter of the year. This was succeeded by a spring of notable restraint, both cool and dry, bestowing a measured awakening upon the vines. Towards the end of May, the sun asserted its reign, with temperatures peaking at 35°C and an ensuing stretch of several days devoid of rain. Yet nature summoned summer showers to break the dryness, bringing much-needed respite to the terroir. As the calendar turned to September, nocturnal coolness provided textbook conditions for the nuanced maturation of sugars, aromas and tannins, each element weaving complexity into the fruit.

The harvest commenced under propitious skies, affording the technical team with precise timing for each vineyard parcel. On the 6th of September, the first Merlot clusters were gathered by hand, and with deliberate patience, the harvest journey reached its conclusion on the 9th of October. 

“We are satisfied to see how Masseto 2022 carries both the ripe energy of summer and the refined tension of autumn, delivering a vibrant and vertical wine with a lot of purity, a wine with a timeless character. In this very special vineyard that can ripen quickly in hot conditions, we have to be perfect with only one grape variety,” says Marco Balsimelli, Technical Director of Masseto. “That’s the magic of Masseto.” 

Grapes harvested from individual vineyard parcels undergo separate fermentations, each conveying their unique character before being united in a blend that reflects the terroir of the estate. The wine starts its 24-month journey in barriques at controlled temperature. Thereafter, the wine is granted a further 12 months of repose in the bottle, during which time a poised equilibrium is attained, an assured harmony of depth and elegance that has long denoted the distinguished style of this wine.

Forged beneath the radiant clarity of Mediterranean light, caressed by sea breezes and rooted in Pliocene-era blue clay earth once cradled by an ancient seabed, this distinguished vintage emerges with resolute grace. 

Distribution of the 2022 vintage of Masseto will begin internationally in October 2025.

The harvest at Masseto, a name that conjures up a wine, a vineyard and an estate, finished yesterday. While the just-picked bunches rest in the concrete tanks for the first stage in their long journey to become wine, down in the Caveau bottles of the 2021 vintage are beginning to set off around the world as ambassadors of the Mediterranean magic that can be discerned in the vibrant and intoxicating aromas.

In the glass, Masseto 2021, elegant and enticing as ever, fills the mouth with a certain corpulence and endurance. 

“The vineyard has interpreted 2021 with personality,” explains Marco Balsimelli, Production Director of Masseto “adding a range of emotions to a vintage that has proven to be beautiful and balanced, also due to the spring water reserves that helped the vines during the long summer months of sun and dry weather.”

After all, the uniqueness of Masseto derives from the distinctive soil, in which blue Pliocene clay veins resurfaced from the sea meet the water needs in the vineyard. “Again, this year, the soil stopped the vines from enduring too much water stress and helped them to grow concentrated berries with potentially high levels of quality,” confirms Balsimelli.

“Masseto 2021 is a wine that knows how to wow, ever present during tasting, dry on the finish, and the fullest expression.”

“We are thankful for this rich and powerful vintage,” confirms Lamberto Frescobaldi, President of Marchesi Frescobaldi, to which Masseto belongs. “We played our part by looking after each micro-parcel individually in this vineyard. All the same, without the complicity of nature, the sun and constant sea breezes from the Tyrrhenian, humans would be unable to create such harmony.”

Once harvested and selected, the grapes are gathered in the cellar carved deep into the hillside and designed to be at one with the surrounding clay. The smooth grey surfaces create a feeling of suspension as the bunches benefit from optimal conditions and technology, beauty and silence to be turned into bottles of rare prestige.

This is the 35th edition of Masseto. From September onwards, the 2021 vintage will be distributed in Italy and all around the world.

While the harvest has just came to a close in the Masseto vineyard, Masseto 2020 emerges from the estate’s cellars carved into the blue clay depths beneath the vines. Now in its 34th vintage, the iconic wine remains a coveted collector’s piece among wine lovers worldwide.

A product of the homonymous vineyard that first loaned its name to the wine and then to the estate, Masseto has since become synonymous of Italian excellence internationally. The vineyard stretches across one of the hills in Bolgheri, opposite the Tyrrhenian Sea. The few hectares are split into micro-parcels that are harvested and vinified separately.

The magic of this wine lies in the distinctive soil composition that vaunts a vein of Pliocenic blue clay once concealed in the sea, which artfully governs the hydration of the vines, absorbing excess water and keeping the roots fresh and moist, even during extended dry spells. Aligned with the Mediterranean sun and constant sea breezes, these traits form the perfect conditions for a perfect ripening of the grapes.

2020 was no exception. Typified by a mild winter, a spring with normal precipitation, and a hot, dry summer, harvest at Masseto took place in mid-September after propitious rainfall with changes in temperature from day to night. “We always picked the grapes early in the morning to preserve their freshness as much as possible and the harvest ended on 16 September,” explains Gaia Cinnirella, Winemaker and Cellar Master of Masseto. The end result once more encapsulates the essential elegance of this unique place in a glass.

Having been harvested and selected with expert care and attention, the grapes were taken to the cellar, which – as well as being an architectural gem instilled with soul-stirring geometry – was designed with the best possible conditions to turn these generous natural fruits into bottles of rare prestige.

Masseto 2020 has cultivated all the characteristics of the vintage, beginning with elegant concentration. The wine is powerful on the palate with exquisite length and balsamic notes. The integrity of the tannins reveals the hallmark ageing potential of Masseto.