Le Macchiole

Le Macchiole was founded in 1983, when Eugenio Campolmi and his wife Cinzia Merli left the family's shop business and bought 4 hectares of vineyard on Via Bolgherese, near Bolgheri's Contessine area. Eugenio, who was born and raised in the Bolgheri area, was among the first growers in the appellation to grow and harvest Cabernet Franc and Syrah. Paleo Rosso, first produced in 1989, started out as a classic Bordeaux blend before becoming a 100% Cabernet Franc monovarietal from the 2001 vintage. Messorio (100% Merlot) and Scrio (100% Syrah) followed in 1994, both bottled as single-variety wines from their first vintage. Eugenio Campolmi died in 2002.

• Founded 1983 by Eugenio Campolmi and Cinzia Merli, who left the family's shop business and bought 4 hectares on Via Bolgherese near Bolgheri's Contessine area
• Eugenio Campolmi was among the first growers in the appellation to grow and harvest Cabernet Franc and Syrah
• Paleo Rosso first produced 1989 as a Bordeaux blend, becoming 100% Cabernet Franc from the 2001 vintage; Messorio and Scrio both first produced 1994 as single-variety wines from the start

Cinzia Merli runs Le Macchiole today with her sons Elia and Mattia Campolmi; the estate describes the team as "one big family that never ceases to innovate." Eugenio Campolmi (d. 2002). Consulting enologist Luca d'Attoma worked with Campolmi on Paleo from 1989. D'Attoma started his own consulting business in 1991, after two years as chief winemaker at a cooperative winery near Pisa, and helped make the 1997 Messorio, which Wine Spectator counted among Tuscany's greatest wines.

• Cinzia Merli runs the estate today with sons Elia and Mattia Campolmi
• Eugenio Campolmi (d. 2002)
• Consulting enologist Luca d'Attoma: worked with Campolmi on Paleo from 1989; started his own consulting practice in 1991; helped make the 1997 Messorio

Le Macchiole farms in Bolgheri on Tuscany's Etruscan Coast, which has a dry, gently ventilated climate with temperatures slightly lower than the rest of the Tuscan coast. The appellation's first regulations date to 1983, and the DOC was established in early 1984. Twenty-seven separate soil types have been identified within the appellation; most of the terrain is clayey, sandy and alkaline, with a fine but substantial mineral skeleton. The estate's vineyards total roughly 86 acres across named plots, including Puntone, Vignone, three Casanuova parcels, Sommi, Casavecchia, Ulivino, Livrone, Quercione, Lamentano and Vallone. The vineyards are farmed organically, with manual harvesting and double sorting of the grapes in the cellar. The Bolgheri DOC consortium lists the estate's current holdings at 34 hectares.

• Bolgheri DOC: first regulations 1983, DOC established early 1984; 27 soil types identified in the appellation; terrain mostly clayey, sandy and alkaline with a fine mineral skeleton
• Vineyards: roughly 86 acres across named plots including Puntone, Vignone, three Casanuova parcels, Sommi, Casavecchia, Ulivino, Livrone, Quercione, Lamentano and Vallone; the Bolgheri DOC consortium lists 34 hectares
• Farmed organically, with manual harvesting and double sorting of the fruit in the cellar

Le Macchiole makes five wines. Messorio, first produced in 1994, is a 100% Merlot that the estate describes as "a personal challenge," made to stay away from Merlot's "more soft, predictable style"; its name refers to the wheat harvest. The 2023 Messorio comes from the Vignone and Ulivino plots, with guyot training, a yield of 900 grams per plant, fermentation and maceration for 20 days in concrete tanks, and 16 months of aging in new oak barrels, a conical trunk cask and stoneware amphora. Scrio, also first produced in 1994, is a 100% Syrah made in very small quantities, which the estate calls "rare and original"; its name comes from a Tuscan expression meaning "pure, candid, whole." The 2023 Scrio comes from Vignone and Casavecchia, with guyot and head-trained vines, a 900-gram yield, 20 days of fermentation and maceration in concrete tanks and stoneware amphora, and 12 months of aging in tonneaux, a conical trunk cask, and ceramic and stoneware amphora. Paleo Rosso, first produced in 1989, began as a classic Bordeaux blend before becoming a 100% Cabernet Franc monovarietal from the 2001 vintage; the 2023 comes from Casa Nuova, Vignone and Ulivino, with an 800-gram yield, 40 days of fermentation and maceration in concrete tanks, and the same 16-month aging regimen as Messorio. Paleo Bianco, first produced in 1991, blends Chardonnay with a smaller portion of Sauvignon Blanc and is made in extremely small quantities; the 2024 was aged 8 months, 10% in new oak barrels and tonneaux, 70% in second- to fourth-passage barrels and tonneaux, and 20% in Tava amphora. Bolgheri Rosso, first bottled in 2004, blends Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Sangiovese; the 2024 was aged 10 months, 60% in third- and fourth-use oak barrels and 40% in concrete.

• Messorio: 100% Merlot, first vintage 1994; the 2023 aged 16 months in new oak, a conical trunk cask and stoneware amphora
• Scrio: 100% Syrah, first vintage 1994; the 2023 aged 12 months in tonneaux, a conical trunk cask, and ceramic and stoneware amphora
• Paleo Rosso: a Bordeaux blend from 1989, 100% Cabernet Franc from the 2001 vintage; the 2023 had the same 16-month aging as Messorio
• Paleo Bianco (Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, first vintage 1991) and Bolgheri Rosso DOC (Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Sangiovese, first vintage 2004) round out the five-wine lineup

James Suckling rated Messorio 2004 a perfect 100 points, tasting it with Cinzia Merli at the estate for a Wine Spectator video segment. Wine Spectator's 2018 Top 100 Wines Tuscany tasting report listed Le Macchiole's Toscana Messorio 2013 at 96 points among Bolgheri's notable new releases that year. Scrio 2015 placed No. 8 on James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of 2018 with a perfect 100-point score, with Marchesi Antinori's Solaia 2015 at No. 9. Decanter critic Ian D'Agata included Paleo Rosso among his picks of Italy's leading Cabernet Franc wines; Vintus, which carries Le Macchiole among its producers, summarized the feature as profiling Le Macchiole as "Italy's most important estate in producing the country's best Cabernet Franc."

• Messorio 2004: 100 points, James Suckling (Wine Spectator)
• Messorio 2013: 96 points, Wine Spectator's 2018 Top 100 Wines Tuscany tasting report
• Scrio 2015: 100 points, No. 8 on James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of 2018
• Paleo Rosso: among Decanter critic Ian D'Agata's picks of Italy's top Cabernet Franc wines

Tours at Le Macchiole are private and by reservation only, and can be arranged in Italian, English or French; animals are not allowed, and for safety reasons children under 12 are not accepted. The estate is closed to visitors on Saturdays and Sundays. Beyond winemaking, Le Macchiole runs a number of cultural projects bringing together wine, poetry, history, places and people, including murals by Tellas and Ozmo and a Mondocana comic-book collaboration. The year 2012 was dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Paleo, marked by vertical tastings held across Italy and abroad and a photography exhibition by Maurizio Gjivovich; the Paleo Club was created that year and remains active today.

• Tours private, by reservation only, in Italian, English or French; animals not allowed; children under 12 not accepted for safety reasons
• Closed to visitors Saturday and Sunday
• Cultural projects include murals by Tellas and Ozmo and a Mondocana comics collaboration
• 2012: 20th-anniversary Paleo vertical tastings and a photography exhibition; the Paleo Club, founded that year, remains active

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.lemacchiole.it/en/azienda.html, https://www.lemacchiole.it/en/territorio.html, https://www.lemacchiole.it/en/vigneti.html, https://www.lemacchiole.it/en/vini/messorio.html, https://www.lemacchiole.it/en/vini/scrio.html, https://www.lemacchiole.it/en/vini/paleorosso.html, https://www.lemacchiole.it/en/vini/paleobianco.html, https://www.lemacchiole.it/en/vini/bolgherirosso.html, https://www.lemacchiole.it/en/visita.html, https://www.lemacchiole.it/en/contatti.html, https://www.lemacchiole.it/en/progetti.html, https://www.lemacchiole.it/en/ventiannipaleo.html. Secondary sources: Bolgheri DOC consortium's producer listing for Le Macchiole, Wine Spectator (Eugenio Campolmi obituary, July 2002; Luca d'Attoma profile, November 2003; "100-Point Tuscan" video page; 2018 Top 100 Wines Tuscany tasting report), WineNews (2018), and the estate's US importer Vintus's recap of a Decanter feature by Ian D'Agata. Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs; see conflicts.json. Spot something off? Submit a correction: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdM0MsYoQFCpXb4qbSPVM2TBRuC2624pOhrffs7IGhpfGCCQA/viewform