2019 Le Macchiole Paleo Rosso

Le Macchiole is a relatively small domain (24 Ha) in the Bolgheri in Tuscany, 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 their own use. The name “Le Macchiole” means “The place where everything began”. The domain is best known for its varietal wines, especially the wines made from Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah. The first wines were commercially marketed with the 1987 harvest. Particularly 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. Currently, “Le Macchiole” is run by Cinzia, his widow. The first wine made under her leadership (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 with the best Merlots from Bordeaux. Total production is approximately 9,000 bottles per year.

The Paleo Rosso is a wine made only 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 is aged for a long time in wooden barrels, 18 months. The Paleo Rosso is one of the very best Cabernet Franc wines worldwide! T

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 100/100 points in WineSpectator. 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.

The Paleo was first produced in 1989 and it truly epitomizes Bolgheri. Initially a classic Bordeaux blend, the wine became a monovarietal of Cabernet Franc in 2001 and has since become a cult wine. The name "Paleo" refers to a wild herb found on the Tuscan coast and it symbolizes a strong local identity of Le Macchiole. The Le Macchiole Paleo Rosso gives you every reason to fall in love with it. The wine is a 100% Cabernet Franc and has an impressive palette of flowers and red fruit. Even some dried lavender in the nose and all this very balanced but also very intense. The wine has polished tannins and is almost monumental on the palate. Give it five years and it will develop even further and in its younger years the advice is to decant the wine. The 2018 received 9+/100 points from the Wine Advocate.