Masseto

Masseto is a 100% Merlot wine from a single hillside parcel within the Tenuta dell'Ornellaia estate in Bolgheri, on Italy's Tuscan coast. Lodovico Antinori founded Tenuta dell'Ornellaia in 1981 and released its first vintage, 1985, several years later; the estate was planted mostly to Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, with some Petit Verdot and Merlot in the blend. In 1984 a small portion of Merlot was planted on a hill of Pliocene-era blue clay, once the site of an old brick factory, which consultant André Tchelistcheff had identified as ideal ground for Merlot. Antinori was reluctant at first, since Merlot was largely unknown in Tuscany at the time. Two years later the grapes from the hill were judged distinctive enough to bottle separately, labeled 'Merlot dell'Ornellaia' in 1986; from 1987 the wine was labeled simply 'Masseto.' The name comes from 'massi,' the rock-hard clusters of blue clay that form on the vineyard's surface.

• Located in Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast, within the Tenuta dell'Ornellaia estate founded by Lodovico Antinori in 1981
• Merlot planted 1984 on a hill of Pliocene blue clay, the site of a former brick factory, on the advice of consultant André Tchelistcheff
• First bottled separately in 1986 as 'Merlot dell'Ornellaia'; labeled simply 'Masseto' from the 1987 vintage

In 1999 Lodovico Antinori sold a minority stake in Ornellaia to Robert Mondavi. Mondavi bought the remaining shares in 2002 and later sold half of the estate on; after the Robert Mondavi company was sold to Constellation Brands, the Frescobaldi family bought the remaining shares in 2005, taking full ownership. André Tchelistcheff had stopped consulting for the estate by the late 1980s, and Michel Rolland was hired as consultant in 1991. Hungarian winemaker Tibor Gál made the wine through the 1990s; Thomas Duroux, later of Château Palmer in Margaux, followed him, and Axel Heinz, previously of Château la Dominique in St-Emilion, was hired as winemaker in 2005. Oenologist Marco Balsimelli succeeded Heinz as production director of both Ornellaia and Masseto from January 2024, an appointment announced by then-CEO Giovanni Geddes da Filicaja. Lamberto Frescobaldi is president of Marchesi Frescobaldi, the family that has owned the estate since 2005.

• André Tchelistcheff consulted until the late 1980s; Michel Rolland was hired as consultant in 1991
• Winemakers: Tibor Gál, then Thomas Duroux, then Axel Heinz from 2005
• Marco Balsimelli became production director of Masseto and Ornellaia from January 2024, succeeding Axel Heinz
• Lamberto Frescobaldi is president of Marchesi Frescobaldi, owner of the estate since 2005

The Masseto vineyard covers 7 hectares of hillside at 100 to 110 metres elevation, planted at about 4,000 vines per hectare. Most of it was planted in 1984 and the lower sector in 1995, with some more recent replanting since. The vines sit on Pliocene-era blue-grey clay, ancient seabed transformed over millions of years and filled with marine fossils. The nearby Tyrrhenian Sea moderates ripening: refracted sea light amplifies summer brightness and mellows tannins, while moisture-laden Aeolian breezes cool the vines and help preserve acidity. The vineyard has been farmed organically since 2012.

• 7 hectares, planted at about 4,000 vines per hectare, elevation between 100 and 110 metres
• Majority planted in 1984 on the advice of André Tchelistcheff; lower sector planted in 1995
• Pliocene blue clay soil, once ancient seabed; farmed organically since 2012

Masseto is 100% Merlot, with average annual production of about 30,000 bottles. For the 2023 vintage, grapes were harvested by hand into 15kg crates, destemmed and lightly pressed, then moved to concrete tanks by gravity, with each vineyard parcel vinified separately; fermentation occurred naturally with indigenous yeasts at around 25 to 28°C, and maceration ran 21 to 28 days. Malolactic fermentation took place in barriques of entirely new oak, with the parcels kept separate for the first 12 months before blending and a second year in barrique, about 24 months in wood in all, followed by about 12 months in bottle before release. In 2017, wine from some recently replanted Merlot and Cabernet Franc parcels, delimited by a dry-stone wall, that were not used in Masseto itself became the basis of a second wine, Massetino; its first vintage, 2017, was released in 2019, thirty years after Masseto's first vintage. For the 2024 vintage, Massetino grapes were likewise hand-harvested into 15kg crates and moved to concrete tanks by gravity without a pump; after malolactic fermentation the wine aged about 12 months in barriques, 50% of them new, then rested about four months in concrete tanks before bottling.

• Masseto: 100% Merlot; average annual production about 30,000 bottles
• 2023 vintage: hand-harvested, gravity-fed to concrete tanks, indigenous-yeast fermentation, about 24 months in new oak plus about 12 months in bottle
• Massetino: second wine from younger Merlot and Cabernet Franc parcels; inaugural 2017 vintage released in 2019; 2024 vintage aged about 12 months in barriques (50% new)

Masseto was made at the nearby Ornellaia winery through at least the 2018 vintage. Construction of a dedicated gravity-flow winery began in 2016; the architects called the building 'the quarry.' It was completed and inaugurated in 2019, the same year Massetino was first released. Lamberto Frescobaldi has described the cellar as 'a concrete and monolithic symbol of this wine, just like the rock walls that mark the boundaries of the estate,' and architect Hikaru Mori called it 'a worksite dedicated to uncovering the secrets of each Masseto vintage.' At its heart lies the Masseto Caveau, the estate's wine vault, where bottles of every vintage since 1986 are kept, each suspended in its own stainless-steel mesh cradle.

• Work on the dedicated Masseto winery began in 2016; Masseto was made at the Ornellaia winery through at least the 2018 vintage
• Designed by architects Zito & Mori; the winery was completed and inaugurated in 2019
• The Masseto Caveau preserves bottles of every vintage since 1986

The 2001 vintage received a 100-point score from Wine Spectator. By Decanter's 2025 account, Masseto moved to Place de Bordeaux distribution in 2009, masterminded by Giovanni Geddes da Filicaja, then CEO of Ornellaia and Masseto, making it only the third wine from outside Bordeaux distributed this way; an earlier Decanter timeline dates the start of Place de Bordeaux sales to 2006. Wine Advocate critic Monica Larner gave the 2015 and 2016 vintages perfect 100-point scores after tasting them side by side, writing that 'Masseto has pulled off back-to-back home runs' and that 'this is the first time that an Italian wine has earned 100 points in successive vintages.'

• 2001 vintage: 100 points from Wine Spectator
• Place de Bordeaux distribution from 2009 under CEO Giovanni Geddes da Filicaja, by Decanter's 2025 account (an earlier Decanter timeline gives 2006); the third wine from outside Bordeaux sold this way
• 2015 and 2016 vintages: 100 points each from Wine Advocate's Monica Larner, the first time an Italian wine did so in successive vintages

Since 2013, every bottle leaving the Masseto winery has carried a tamper-proof authentication seal developed by Prooftag. The seal's Bubble Tag consists of a translucent polymer in which a random pattern of bubbles self-generates by physical reaction, functioning like a fingerprint unique to each bottle and linked to an alphanumeric code and a QR code. Buyers can verify a bottle by comparing its Bubble Tag against the record on the Masseto website, entering the alphanumeric code or scanning the QR code with a smartphone.

• Prooftag Bubble Tag anti-counterfeit seal affixed to every bottle since 2013
• Each bottle's seal carries a unique alphanumeric code and QR code, verifiable on the Masseto website

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.masseto.com/en/, https://www.masseto.com/en/genesis/, https://www.masseto.com/en/philosophy/, https://www.masseto.com/en/the-place/, https://www.masseto.com/en/the-winery/, https://www.masseto.com/en/wine/, https://www.masseto.com/en/wine/masseto-2023/, https://www.masseto.com/en/wine/massetino-2024/, https://www.masseto.com/en/bottle-identity/. Secondary sources: Decanter (Stephen Brook, 28 July 2017; James Button, 6 February 2025), Wine Journal / Robert Parker Wine Advocate (Anthony Maxwell, 26 September 2019), wein.plus (29 September 2023), WineAccess.com product listing. Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs. Spot something off? Submit a correction: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdM0MsYoQFCpXb4qbSPVM2TBRuC2624pOhrffs7IGhpfGCCQA/viewform