2015 Masseto

Readers who can get their hands on the 2015 Masseto won't want to hesitate, as it is a spectacular wine. The 2015 reminds me of the 2004 in its silkiness, but it has a little more mid-palate richness. In many ways, the 2015 Masseto is the embodiment of a growing season that was brutally hot from July 1 to August 15, and then unseasonably cool through to the end of harvest. In the glass, the 2015 has the soft curves of a warm year, but the mid-weight structure, aromatic lift and super-ripe tannins of a late harvest, which is a pretty appealing combination in my book. So is the wine. The 2014, from a vintage most winemakers would like to forget, is a difficult wine that needs time to come together. As I have written before, if forced to choose between an unseasonably hot year or cold year, I will always take the latter. Masseto in particular has proven it can age exquisitely even in cooler vintages.