1999 Masseto, Tuscany, Italy

The dense ruby/purple-coloured 1999 Masseto offers a fabulous bouquet of sweet oak, black raspberries, blackberries, currants, new wood, and liquorice. Firmly-structured and medium to full-bodied yet remarkably elegant, this impressive beauty needs 3-4 years of cellaring and should age for 15+ years.

Ready to drink

This is sometimes overlooked by Masseto lovers. It shows the precision and finesse of a top Masseto with firm tannins and bright blueberry and violet character with a long, fresh finish. It's full-bodied and so very polished with wonderful texture.

Drink or hold. Decant a couple of hours before serving.

Tasted blind at dinner at The Greenhouse. Served blind, this has a seductive, ravishing bouquet of red-berried fruit with touches of black olive, clay pottery room!) and a slight savoury character reminiscent of a mature Petrus. Wonderful definition. The palate is full-bodied with firm tannins, real weight, and superb structure. It offers more sensory and tactile pleasure than the Vigna d’Alceo ’99 apposite. The tannins are thick and chewy towards the finish, with great depth and expression with a sumptuous finish. Sublime.

Ready to drink

Well, there is a lot of competition in this flight. The 1999 Masseto is another epic wine. Swaths of tannin give the 1999 a real sense of energy to match its decidedly virile, inward personality. Dark and brooding, the 1999 doesn’t quite have the volume of the 2001, the power of the 2006, or the finesse of years like 2004, but it is nevertheless superb in a slightly burlier style than those wines.

First made in 1986 as Il Merlot dell’Ornellaia, Masseto has 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.

Production is around 32,000 bottles.

Drink 2018 - 2034