2016 Le Macchiole Bolgheri Scrio

Le Macchiole is a relatively small domain (24 Ha) in the Bolgheri in Tuscany in Italy. The domain was founded in 1983 by Eugenio Campolmi and Cinzia Merli. Before 1983 Eugenio's father and grandfather already produced wines, mainly for his own use. The name "Le Macchiole" means "The place where everything started". The domain is best known for its wines, especially wines made from Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah. With the 1987 harvest, the first wines were put on the market commercially. Especially in these early years, Eugenio and Cinzia produced wines from multiple grapes, with an emphasis on Bordeaux blends. From the mid-1990s, they specialized in wines made from a type of grape.

Unfortunately Eugenio passed away in 2002, he was only 40 years old. At the moment, “Le Macchiole” is headed by Cinzia, his widow. The first wine made under her leadership (since 1994) is the Messorio, a 100% Merlot wine that has been aged in wooden barrels (barriques) for 20 months and bottled without filtration. It is without doubt one of the best Merlots from Italy and can be compared to the best Merlots from Bordeaux. Total production is approximately 9000 bottles per year.

The Paleo Rosso is a wine that is all made from the Cabernet Franc grape, in the early years of this release the wine also contained small parts of Cabernet Sauvignon and / or Sangiovese. The wine was first released in 1989 and has been aged for 18 months in wooden barrels. The Paleo Rosso is one of the very best Cabernet Franc wines worldwide! Total production: 25000 - 30000 bottles.

The Scrio is the third wine from Le Macchiole, made from 100% Syrah. This wine can also compete with the best that can be made of Syrah, the style resembles that of the Rhône Valley in France. The first edition was in 1994, production is very limited: only 6,500 bottles.

Le Macchiole has become a reference for Bolgheri. In 2008 their top wine Messorio in WineSpectator was rated with 100/100 points and since then this has been a true cult wine comparable to the Sassicaia. It is widely known that 2015 and 2016 were one of the very best years in the Bolgheri so we would not be surprised if this wine closes again and perhaps reaches the magical 100-point limit.

The Scrio is a sumptuous, generous and captivating wine. It reveals the possibilities of the Syrah personality with ample layers of dark fruits, blackberries, spices, cured meats, leather and bacon fat. Its integration is absolutely seamless. Scrio is dark and impenetrable in appearance and presentation. The bouquet and mouthfeel are long and luscious. You can count the length of the finish in many, many long seconds. Only 5,000 bottles were made. In terms of maturation potential, this Tuscan Syrah has the inner energy to last for twenty years or more.

98/100 James Suckling and 96 + / 100 Parker