Ornellaia: Masseto Merlot 2020

Colin Hay om: Masseto Merlot

A wine that you somehow expect to disappoint but that simply never does – here perhaps more than ever. The presence of the Cabernet Franc for only the second time (it was at 10% per cent in the 2019 as I recall) raises this, for me, to a level never previously attained. We have fireworks, both quasi-literal (in that there is a slight hint of cordite in the aromatics) and figurative (in that the image that comes to my mind when I try to capture what encountering this wine feels like is that of a firework display). But that is misleading too. For this is a wine of aromatic and sensual intensity but also of great calm, composure, grace and eloquence. It is subtle just as much as it is explosive. And it is also holding quite a lot back at this early stage. There is already great complexity here – a little subtle vanilla of hint, which is there in the empty glass too; graphite; a touch of spice and a little pepper; there’s blood orange too and a wondrous, again subtle, violet floral note from the Cabernet Franc. On the palate, this is rich and broad – Masseto is to Tuscany what Petrus is to Pomerol. But it is also hyper-fresh and so soft and caressing, with the most sublime, ultra-fine grained tannins. There’s plenty of grip, but a very slow and calm evolution over the palate – no fireworks here. Above all this is a wine of such wonderous potential with so much more to come; all in harmony and elegance. On the finish this is still chewy with tender tannins and exceptionally long – and a lovely rise to the top of the palate producing a vertical plume. So very pure and so very precise.100/100