2017 Le Macchiole Bolgheri Messorio

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 harvest from 1987, the first wines were commercially marketed. 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.

Sadly, 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 leadership (since 1994) is the Messorio, a 100% Merlot wine aged for 20 months in wooden barrels (barriques) and bottled without filtration. It is without doubt one of the best Merlots from Italy and can be compared with the best Merlots from Bordeaux. The total production is about 9000 bottles per year.

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

The Messorio is a 100% Merlot and is sometimes called the Italian Petrus. The wine is very complete and extremely well balanced as they can only make it in the Bolgheri and the Pomerol. Dark fruit, blackberries, herbs, leather, tar and tobacco are folded together into a homogeneous whole. The wine is supported by finely integrated tannins with delicious flavors of dark fruit and a wonderful plush texture richness. The finish is juicy and nicely layered. This is a beautiful wine that will not fade in the coming decades and is highly recommended for a beautiful wine collection.

95/100 Parker, 97/10 Suckling and 94/100 WS