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, releasing the estate's maiden vintage, 1985, several years later; that estate was planted mostly to Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, with some Petit Verdot and Merlot in the blend. A small portion of Merlot was planted in 1984 on a hill of Pliocene-era blue clay, once the site of an old brick factory, which Antinori's consultant André Tchelistcheff 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 this hill were judged distinctive enough to bottle separately, labeled 'Merlot dell'Ornellaia' in 1986; the following year, 1987, the wine was labeled simply 'Masseto.' The estate says 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 of Ornellaia to Robert Mondavi. Mondavi purchased the remaining shares in 2002 and later sold half of the estate on; the Frescobaldi family bought the remaining shares in 2005, following the sale of the Robert Mondavi company to Constellation Brands, taking full ownership of the property. André Tchelistcheff had stopped consulting for the estate by the late 1980s; 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 on a hillside at an elevation of between 100 and 110 metres, planted at a density of about 4,000 vines per hectare. Most of the vineyard was planted in 1984; the lower sector was planted in 1995, with some more recent replanting since. The vineyard sits on Pliocene-era blue-grey clay, ancient seabed transformed over millions of years and filled with marine fossils. The site's proximity to the 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 a single-varietal 100% Merlot wine, with average annual production of about 30,000 bottles. For the 2023 vintage, the estate describes grapes 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 around 25 to 28°C, with maceration extended from 21 to 28 days. Malolactic fermentation took place in barriques made entirely of new oak, with the parcels kept separate for the first 12 months of aging before blending and a second year in barrique, for a total of about 24 months of wood aging, 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 inaugural 2017 vintage 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; malolactic fermentation was followed by about 12 months' aging in barriques, 50% of them new, and about four months resting 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 resulting building 'the quarry.' The winery was completed and inaugurated in 2019, the same year Massetino was first released. Frescobaldi president 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 preserved, 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 won a 100-point score from Wine Spectator. Decanter's 2025 account credits Giovanni Geddes da Filicaja, then CEO of Ornellaia and Masseto, with masterminding Masseto's move to distribution through Bordeaux's Place de Bordeaux system in 2009, describing Masseto as only the third wine outside Bordeaux distributed this way; an earlier Decanter timeline had placed the start of Place de Bordeaux sales in 2006. The 2015 and 2016 vintages each received perfect 100-point scores from Wine Advocate critic Monica Larner, who said Masseto had 'pulled off back-to-back home runs' and called it 'the first time that an Italian wine has earned 100 points in successive vintages' after tasting the two vintages side by side.

• 2001 vintage: 100-point score from Wine Spectator
• Decanter: Place de Bordeaux distribution credited to CEO Giovanni Geddes da Filicaja in 2009 (an earlier Decanter timeline says 2006); called the third wine outside Bordeaux sold this way
• 2015 and 2016 vintages: consecutive 100-point scores from Wine Advocate's Monica Larner, called the first time for an Italian wine 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 masseto.com

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 2026-09-08. 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