2002 Paleo Rosso

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.

Proprietor Cinzia Merli has done an outstanding job running her family's small winery after the untimely passing of her husband Eugenio, whose passion and spirit permeates everything about the estate and its vision. Under the direction of brilliant oenologist Luca d'Attoma Le Macchiole continues to make some of Italy's most inspired wines. The estate's philosophy starts with what can only be defined as a near-obsessive attention to detail in the vineyards, many which I was able to see during the 2006 harvest. The original vineyards are planted at 5,000 plants per hectare but newer plots have been planted at a very dense 10,000 plants per hectare. Green harvesting, along with the high density of the vineyards and the naturally poor soils result in small bunches and low yields per plant. Once in the cellar the estate's philosophy is minimalist. The wines see fermentation lasting 20-25 days followed by malo in barrique where the wines complete their aging for 12-18 months. The estate's most famous wine, Messorio, is aged in smaller 112 liter barrels, which were also used for a portion of the 2003 Paleo. A slightly different approach is taken for the Scrio (100% Syrah), parcels of which see micro-fermentation in barrique, a laborious and time-consuming practice. “Syrah is a varietal that naturally tends towards reduction,” says D'Attoma. “We ferment a portion of the fruit in barrique in order to give the fruit more oxygen during vinification. We also use micro-oxygenation in the cellar to give the wine a rounder, softer texture.” “2003 was just a tough vintage,” says D'Attoma. “To be honest it felt more like Australia or Sicily. It was of course very hot, but perhaps even more importantly there was no respite form the heat, and for fruit to mature well some alternation of temperatures is essential. The skins were fairly ripe, but we didn't achieve 100% phenolic ripeness in the seeds and I think that anyone who says they did reach full ripeness is exaggerating. The Cabernet Franc did pretty well but we reached our highest levels of ripeness with the Syrah, which seemed to react best to the heat. We did a fairly drastic selection in the vineyards and then treated the fruit very carefully. We did shorter fermentations and worked at lower temperatures than usual to try to keep some freshness in the wines. In 2003 it was critical to not over-extract, which is what gives some wines in this vintage a bitter taste. This was a year to play defense rather than offense, but you know what they say, defense often wins championships.” “2002 was of course completely different. Because it rained a lot especially during August the skins were very delicate and there was significant risk of rot. We didn't produce our Scrio as the grapes weren't healthy. Overall temperatures were normal during fermentation but we used much less new oak on the wines given the less muscular nature of the vintage.” Merli likes to release her wines with a little additional bottle age on them so readers will find the 2002s and the 2003s on the market. Her decision to lower prices on the 2002s is commendable. Recognizing the lower quality of the vintage she didn't feel it was fair to keep prices in line with past vintages so the 2002 Paleo has been reduced by 30% and the 2002 Messorio by 50%. Merli's views are refreshingly honest and show a level of integrity as well as concern for the consumer that is all too rare these days. She also intends to keep the ex-cellar price of Messorio lower once her newer vineyards enter production and the number of bottles increases. While 2002 and 2003 clearly represent anomalous vintages, the 2004s offer a much more balanced and elegant style. I tasted the wines just after bottling and they are full of promise.

This estate's wines have become cult items over the years, selling at astronomical prices, and it's to owner Cinzia Merli Campolmi's credit that the wines from the weaker '02 vintage were sold at much lower prices (down 50% for the Paleo, 30% for Messorio and Scrio). That said, these '02s are some of the very best made by anyone in Italy that year, and they are sure to entice many consumers who are looking for relative bargains. According to Campolmi, the estate is proud of its new Bolgheri Rosso-a blend of 40% merlot, 30% sangiovese and 30% cabernet franc-which will replace the old Le Macchiole bottling (which was not made in '03). "Our goal was to make a lighter, easier-drinking wine than Le Macchiole, which was too similar to our other wines," she told me. "After ten years spent studying our vineyards, we're confident that we've identified those parcels that usually give slightly less concentrated grapes." No new oak will be used, and the wine will spend only 8 or 9 months in barrel, rather than the 15 previously used for the Macchiole. As Campolmi releases her wines one year later than most other producers on the Tuscan coast, to allow for some bottle age, the '03 wines will be shipped to the U.S. this fall.