2021 Le Macchiole Paleo Bianco

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 were already producing wines, mainly for their own use. The name “Le Macchiole” means “The place where it all began”. The domain is best known for its varietal wines, especially the wines made from Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah. With the 1987 harvest, the first wines were commercially marketed. 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 one type of grape.

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

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

The Scrio is the third varietal wine from Le Macchiole, made from 100% Syrah. This wine can also compete with the best that can be made from Syrah, the style is particularly similar to that of the Rhône Valley in France. The first release was in 1994, production is very limited: only 6500 bottles.

Le Macchiole has become a reference for Bolgheri. In 2008, their top wine Messorio was rated in WineSpectator with 100/100 points. The entry-level wine Rosso 'Le Macchiole' now also falls under the DOC Bolgheri appellation and contains merlot, cabernet franc and syrah. Entry is actually a bit insulting because the Rosso is a very nice Bolgheri and unlike the Messorio, Paleo and Scrio, this wine is still reasonable in price.

In our opinion, the Le Macchiole Paleo Bianco is one of the very best white wines in Italy, but perhaps also one of the scarcest white wines in Italy. Only 2500 bottles of the Paleo Bianco have been made. The Paleo Bianco is mainly Chardonnay (90%) with a smaller portion of Sauvignon Blanc (10%) grapes. This is a great white blend from the Tuscan coast that delivers a lot of intensity, energy and impressive complexity. The bouquet is reminiscent of stone fruit and honey. But the mouthfeel is even more interesting with excellent acidity, beautiful oriental spices such as saffron or cinnamon and a bitterness and some pepper in the back of the mouth.