2011 Masseto

This wine was tasted as part of a complete retrospective I co-hosted with Masseto winemaker Axel Heinz, singer/songwriter Martina McBride and her husband, producer John McBride that was auctioned off at the Nashville Wine Auction to fund cancer research and treatment.

First made in 1986 as Il Merlot dell’Ornellaia, Masseto has gone on to become one of the most highly sought-after wines in the world. Masseto emerges principally from three Merlot vineyards: ‘Masseto Alto, Masseto Centrale and Masseto Junior.’ The wine sees 3-4 weeks on the skins, followed by malolactic fermentation in barrel. The lots are aged separately for 12 months in 100% new oak, blended and then the wine is aged for another 12 months in wood. Earlier vintages saw shorter macerations and less time in oak, broadly speaking. Production is around 32,000 bottles. Readers who want to learn more about the history of Masseto might enjoy this article from some years back.

Ornellaia's 2011s and 2012s are both highly expressive of their respective vintages. I remember stopping by Ornellaia in mid-August 2011, just as the harvest at Masseto was about to get started. It was very hot and dry, even for Bolgheri. Not surprisingly, those qualities show up in the wines. In challenging years Ornellaia can be more complete than Masseto because winemaker Axel Heinz can react to the vintage by optimizing the final blend. That is very much the case in 2011. When it comes to Masseto, however, the potential and limits of Merlot are on full display. The 2012s benefit from cooler growing season, especially in the summer months, where there were greater diurnal shifts. Readers looking for an attractive, mid-tier alternative to Tuscany's heavy hitters should check out Le Serre di Ornellaia, which has been particularly strong in recent years.

This is a dazzling set of wines from Tenuta dell'Ornellaia. Winemaker Axel Heinz describes 2010 as the most atypical vintage he has ever seen. The harvest got off to a very late start, but ended in line with years such as 2004 and 2005. As an example, in 2010 Ornellaia started bringing in the Merlot on September 13, whereas in most years the entire Merlot crop is in the cellar by that date. The estate did more leaf pulling than normal in order to get the fruit ripe. Over the years, Ornellaia's wines from later harvests, even those of much lower overall quality, have aged exceptionally well. I expect that will be the case here as well. I also tasted the 2011s, from a diametrically opposite vintage, right after bottling. Those wines have the highest dry extracts ever seen at Ornellaia. It will be fascinating to see how the 2011s develop in the next year. Readers might want to see this video interview with Axel Heinz or my impressions of the 2010s, also on video.