Le Macchiole: Paleo Rosso 1992-2012
Bolgheri and Maremma more broadly are home to a number of showy, world-class estates. In that context, Le Macchiole stands out for its decidedly artisan scale and approach. The estate’s Messorio (Merlot) and Scrio (Syrah) seem to get most of the attention, while Paleo Rosso is sadly often overlooked. Over the last ten years, Paleo Rosso has established itself as one of the great wines of Tuscany and Italy. This vertical going back to 1992 provided an opportunity to check in on a large number of wines. The only vintage missing was 1998, which proprietor Cinzia Merli omitted because she wasn't entirely satisfied with the wine.
Eugenio and Cinzia Campolmi bought their small estate in 1982. Readers who want to learn more about the estate’s early history might enjoy this retrospective of Messorio. The early Macchiole wines were quite simple in style. In 1991 the Campolmis started working with renowned consultant Luca D’Attoma, a partnership that has yielded a number of monumental wines. D’Attoma introduced a number of innovations, including planting high-density vineyards on a level rarely seen in Italy. At the time, Paleo Rosso was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese. Eugenio Campolmi dreamed of creating something unique; a wine that would stand apart from the rest of Bolgheri. Cabernet Franc was introduced to the blend with the 1996 vintage, while Sangiovese was eliminated entirely by 1999. The idea was to gradually increase the percentage of Cabernet Franc in Paleo Rosso with the goal of perhaps bottling a pure Franc in the future. The quality of the juice in 1999 and 2000 convinced Campolmi to accelerate his timeline, and the first 100% Cabernet Franc Paleo Rosso was born in 2001. That first essay in Cabernet Franc remains stunning to this day.
