Merlot grape variety

Messorio has been undisputedly one of the best and rarest Merlots in Italy since the mid-1990s. It was named after the Tuscan wheat harvest, the most fundamental moment in the agricultural year – was created in 1994 from Eugenio Campolmi's (†2002) personal challenge to Merlot. It was not to be a tame, predictable wine, but a spirited thoroughbred, ready to make a grand entrance. The 2019 vintage epitomises the elegance of slow ripening without extreme heat. A mild winter with little rainfall, followed by cool March days and gradually rising temperatures in April, led to cautious development. The rainy, cool May slowed down the vegetation, while the hot start to June required intensive foliage work.

In 1994, Rita Tua and Virgilio Bisti set aside two barrels of Merlot, without realising that they were creating a cult wine that would catapult the estate onto the world stage. The name comes from a small stream that flows close to the vineyards, as unassuming as the project's very beginnings. Then, in 2000, came the sensation: Robert Parker awarded it a full 100 points – the first ever for an Italian red wine. The Redigaffi became a legend, the epitome of Tuscan Merlot mastery, compared to Pétrus and Masseto – and yet entirely its own, shaped by the metal-rich hills of the Maremma, by loam and clay, by its proximity to the sea … The vines grow in the middle section, where the clay content is highest – the very place where Merlot achieves its greatest density. Hand-selected in three passes, using only fully ripe grapes. Vinification involves a long maceration, followed by eighteen to twenty months in new French barriques, then several months in the bottle before the wine leaves the estate.

Andrea Franchetti began in the 1990s to position Palazzi as an equal red alongside his flagship Tenuta di Trinoro, with the aim of producing two exceptional wines reminiscent of the left and right banks of Bordeaux.

Andrea Franchetti loved Merlot – and Palazzi is his ultimate tribute to this grape variety. Year after year, the higher-altitude plots of the estate – comprising five to seven hectares of old Merlot vines – produce one of the finest Italian Merlots of all: opulent yet mineral, powerful yet silky smooth. The name refers to the historic "Strada Vecchia" vineyard, where dense clay soils lend the wine its characteristic richness. Eight months in new French barriques, followed by eleven months in concrete tanks – a vinification process that lends the wine complexity without masking its natural opulence.

In the hot, challenging summers of the climate change era, Messorio proves its exceptional class. The 2020 vintage masterfully navigated through a difficult growing season and shows why Cinzia Merli's flagship is now one of the world's best Merlot interpretations. Only around 11,000 bottles of this rarity are produced from the Vignone (1999) and the younger Ulivino (2016) vineyards with the most rigorous yield reductions. The 18-month maturation in 100% French oak, 5% of which is in amphorae, creates an exceptional balance between power and refinement.

The exceptional single-varietal Merlot L'Apparita is outstanding with its elegance, strength of character, fine tannin and acid structure and endless length. An oenological rarity of Tuscany and not only therefore an object of desire every year. On the nose, a combination of fruity and spicy impressions, excellent the fleshy taste, whose juicy, still quite concise tannin blends well with the warm body. SUPERIORE.DE

A rare, exceptional Merlot from western Tuscany: a deep ruby red with violet hues. The bouquet is complex, with hints of wild berries and blackberries, ripe cherries, as well as notes of liquorice and tobacco. Very well-structured yet lively on the palate. The silky tannins emphasise the delicate minerality right through to the almost endless finish. SUPERIORE.DE

The exceptional single-varietal Merlot L'Apparita is outstanding with its elegance, strength of character, fine tannin and acid structure and endless length. An oenological rarity of Tuscany and not only therefore an object of desire every year. On the nose, a combination of fruity and spicy impressions, excellent the fleshy taste, whose juicy, still quite concise tannin blends well with the warm body. SUPERIORE.DE

Rare, exceptional Merlot from the west of Tuscany: deep ruby red with violet reflections. The bouquet is multi-layered with hints of wild berries and blackberries, ripe cherries, but also liquorice and tobacco notes. Very structured and lively on the palate. The silky tannins emphasise the delicate minerality right through to the almost endless finish. SUPERIORE.DE

The name Messorio carries the memory of the time when the wheat harvest marked the most important moment in the Tuscan agricultural year. Today it stands for one of the most extraordinary Merlots in the world. What began in 1994 as Eugenio Campolmi's personal challenge to an often underestimated grape variety developed into the crown jewel of Le Macchiole. The 2021 vintage benefited from ideal climatic conditions in Bolgheri: a long, dry summer with cool nights allowed for homogeneous ripening and created the remarkable balance between sugar, acidity and tannins that makes Messorio an exceptional Merlot. The early manual harvest between the first and second week of September produced grapes of exceptional aromatic intensity. The 30-day fermentation in natural cement columns, followed by 16 months of ageing in new barrels, 12 hl vats and ceramic amphorae, created a texture of exceptional suppleness.

In 1994, Eugenio Campolmi made a decision that sounded like a declaration of war. Merlot – one of the most widely planted grape varieties in Bolgheri and on the Tuscan coast, the most widely planted in the world – was to become a wine that was as far removed as possible from everything that Merlot normally means: pleasing, soft, predictable. "A thoroughbred that wants to win the race" is how the house describes its goal to this day. The name – messorio, Tuscan for the wheat harvest, once the most important moment of the farming year – has become a metaphor for what the grape harvest can be: a moment that decides everything.

L'Apparita – "The apparition". From the highest point of this special vineyard, the tower of Siena's Palazzo Pubblico appears in the distance, hovering like a mirage between heaven and earth. It was this magical sight that gave the vineyard its name and gave Tuscany's first 100% Merlot its mysterious soul. High up in the Bellavista Valley, at 490 metres above sea level, two small plots of 3.84 hectares of vines are enthroned. Here, where Canaiolo and Malvasia Bianca still grew in 1975, the Merlot vines of clone 342 now stretch out in a perfect north-south orientation. The soil – predominantly clay on calcareous subsoil – and the revolutionary lyre training system create a microclimate that makes this cru a crown jewel of world wine production.

From the highest point of the plot, the tower of Siena's Palazzo Pubblico appears on the horizon – a sight that gave this vineyard its name: L'Apparita. A poetic coincidence of the landscape became the name of a wine that made its debut in 1985 as Tuscany's first single-varietal Merlot. The story begins with Marco Pallanti, who arrived in Ama in 1982 and spent his early years working alongside Patrick Léon, then chief oenologist at Château Mouton Rothschild. This encounter shaped Pallanti's entire career – a passion for French precision, applied to the Tuscan terroir. Between 1982 and 1985, he planted Merlot clone 342 on two plots at the top of the Bellavista vineyard, just under three hectares, at an altitude of 501 metres, with the rows running north-south and trained in the open lyre style. The soil is predominantly clay with a limestone component – a combination that lends the wine freshness and elegance. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel and barriques, half in new oak and half in second-use barrels, over a period of 15 months.

A wine that made history. When Francesco Ricasoli presented Casalferro for the first time in 1993, it marked the beginning of a new era for the venerable Castello di Brolio and cemented Ricasoli's membership in the elite of Italian oenology. Today, almost three decades later, Casalferro 2019 is a prime example of how a French grape variety matures to exceptional perfection on Tuscan terroir. Casalferro is the essence of three exceptional individual vineyards: Vigna Casalferro, Vigna Pecchierino and Vigna Sodacci. These 13 hectares of Merlot vineyards between 400 and 500 metres above sea level are the result of decades of meticulous terroir studies. Each site has its own personality: Vigna Casalferro with its sandstone and limestone soils, Vigna Pecchierino on pure Alberese limestone and Vigna Sodacci on iron-rich sandstone soils. They all share the characteristic altitude, which gives the grapes the crystalline freshness and lively acidity that characterise the DNA of the Brolio terroir.

Palafreno 2019 is wonderfully polished and lively. Firm but well-integrated tannins form the backbone for a Merlot that is endowed with considerable energy. Spicy herbs, tobacco and wild flowers add complexity. Very nuanced on the palate, opulent to expressive, then at second glance supple, downright elegant. Almost unbeatable in complexity, depth and richness of finesse, it will reveal more and more of its first-class repertoire in the coming years. SUPERIORE.DE

At the southern foot of the Margreider Schuttkegel is a vineyard with the dialect name "Punggl", which has been known and coveted for viticulture since time immemorial. In the mid-1950s, the former owners of the Hirschprunn estate planted a vineyard there with Merlot, as it had already produced very good results in previous decades. In 1995, the grapes from this vineyard proved to be of such first-class quality that they inspired Luis von Dellemann, the Oenologistresponsible at the time, to vinify these grapes as a single variety - since then, and only in the best years, this strictly selected grape material has formed the basis for the MCM.

San Walfredo – a Merlot that breathes history. Named after the Antinori family saint, this Bolgheri Superiore not only stands for excellence, but also for a conscious pause in the flow of modernity. The grapes come from a single plot, from an old, gravel-rich strip of alluvial soil near the sea. The combination of intense sunshine, good aeration and broodingsoils produces grapes of rare concentration and balance. The 2019 vintage got off to a cool start with late budding and an ideal growing season. September brought warm days and cool nights – perfect conditions for a balance of ripeness and freshness. The grapes were harvested exclusively by hand, plot by plot. Fermentation took place in conical stainless steel tanks, with a long maceration period, followed by 18 months of maturation in new French barriques and subsequent rest in the bottle.

In 2017, exactly thirty years after the first Masseto, Massetino was born: not as a mere second wine, but as an independent interpretation of the same extraordinary terroir. Where its big brother requires patience and can mature for decades, Massetino opens up earlier, more – more accessible, more inviting, without sacrificing depth. A wine that provides an introduction to the Masseto universe without compromising on quality. The cuvée combines Merlot with a small proportion of Cabernet Franc – a deliberate difference to the single-varietal Masseto. The Franc brings floral nuances, herbal spice and an additional aromatic dimension into play, giving the Massetino its own character. Hand-picked in small crates, double selection, temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel, then twelve months of ageing in French oak, half of which is new. After blending, the wine rests for a further month before being bottled.

Just like its older brother, Massetino skilfully showcases the contrast between power and opulence combined with restraint and class. A solid, crisp wine with a bright colour, very distinctive, vertical and elevated, intense and expressively aromatic. On the nose, the essence of hyacinth, saffron, wild rosemary, mulberry and a hint of lavender. Juicy on the palate, but with a frame that emphasises the feeling of density and compactness. Vertically layered, but with great depth, tapering downwards to a distant vanishing point. After a silky attack, the present tannins take hold as the wine progresses. Long and pure, very persistent. Massetino is truly something special every year. SUPERIORE.DE

2017 was the very first vintage of Massetino. It was launched in 2019, exactly 30 years after the first Massetino vintage. The newly designed wine cellar by Italian architects Zito & Mori was also inaugurated in 2019. The birth of the second wine and the opening of the wine cellar represent a historic moment for Masseto and clearly contribute to its recognition as a winery.

The vineyard's younger generation is spread across three levels. At the top, at around 120 metres, the vines are rooted in loose clay mixed with sand and pebbles; in the middle, on Pliocene clay on slopes with a ten% gradient, which imparts strength and a tannic structure; and right at the bottom, on less clayey soil, which contributes body and softness. Reflected light and cool breezes come from the sea, slowing down ripening and preserving acidity. Since the 2017 vintage, these younger vines have been used to produce the Massetino, and each small plot is harvested separately by hand, with the grapes transported in 15-kilo crates. Each plot ferments separately, spontaneously with its own yeasts, in concrete tanks; malolactic fermentation takes place in barriques, half of which are new. The wine remains there for twelve months, is then blended from 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, and matures for a further three months in wood before being bottled.

In the pantheon of Tuscan winemaking, there are moments of pure alchemy – and Sette from Tenuta Sette Ponti embodies just such a moment. Seven different Merlot vineyards, seven distinct characters, seven unique terroirs, which Antonio Moretti Cuseri blends into a harmonious symphony. A magnificent tribute to the art of winemaking, demonstrating how diversity gives rise to unity.

Andrea Franchetti began in the 1990s to position Palazzi as an equal red alongside his flagship Tenuta di Trinoro, with the aim of producing two exceptional wines reminiscent of the left and right banks of Bordeaux.

While Tenuta Sette Ponti takes its name from the seven bridges over the Arno, Sette is named after the up to seven different vineyards that provide the fruit for this 100% Merlot wine: these are the Cypress, Salvareccio I, Salvareccio II, Poggio Sinistro, Sorbaccio, Nocetta I and Nocetta II vineyards. Aromatic and earthy, fragrant notes of cherry and cool blue fruit introduce a ripe and fresh palate that is light on its feet, vertical and balanced. The mid-palate has a stony element, while the red and blue fruits are supported by a network of tannins and good acidity. SUPERIORE.DE