Tasting Notes
Vinous 94
Raspberry jam, white flowers, mint and spices flesh out in the 2011 Masseto. Ripe and flashy to the core, the 2011 saturates the palate with layers of expressive fruit. Having tasted the 2011 now several times, my sense is that this is a vintage in which blending grapes (a la Ornellaia) could have been a help. Then again, even the weakest vintages of Masseto have aged impeccably, so time will tell. Ultimately, though, I don’t see the 2011 as one of the all-time great Massetos.
Anticipated maturity: 2017-2031
Robert Parker 95
From Italy’s most celebrated 7-hectare plot of Merlot, the 2011 Masseto is a wine of grand and lofty ambitions that happily materialize in the glass. This wine delivers on all the many promises it makes. First is the exceptional quality of the bouquet with seamless integration of dark fruit to spice, to chocolate, to Mediterranean herb. The aromas are presented in kaleidoscope effect so that many bright colors blend into one. Second, is the mouthfeel that is as supple, rich and persistent as you should expect of a wine of this pedigree. Lastly, is the wine’s aging potential that is already evident in terms of the integrated acidity and the richness of the tannins. In fact, the tannins are absolutely gorgeous here: They are silky, refined and delightful. It’s not the greatest Masseto ever made, but it performs beautifully nonetheless.
Anticipated maturity: 2016-2035
JancisRobinson.com 17.5
A warm spring accelerated budburst by 10 days. Cooler weather in June and July then applied a brake. Picked very early, after a hot dry summer, from 25 August to 1 September. Unusually, all the fruit went into the main wine. Big, beefy, baked and broad. A bit austere and dry. Big and less graceful on the finish then some vintages. This wine is impressive more than pleasurable. Awkward. A bit overripe with a grainy, jagged finish.
Anticipated maturity: 2016-2023
