Masseto IGT Toscana 2016 Ornellaia

Masseto has pulled off back-to-back home runs. This is the first time that an Italian wine has earned 100 points in successive vintages. The 2016 Masseto is a thunderstorm of emotions, but it manages to keep them under perfect control. Like the 2015 Masseto before it, this vintage is a seamless wine of the highest pedigree. It represents an encore performance, continuing the string of successes that is bringing Italy to the forefront of the wine world. The first thing you'll notice is the thickness and concentration of the fruit that makes an immediate impact on all the senses, in terms of appearance, aroma and mouthfeel. There is no overstating the sheer power and richness of this iconic vintage of Italy's groundbreaking Merlot. Despite that considerable mass, this Masseto remains delicate and graceful. You gain better perspective as the wine opens in the glass and reveals deeper layers that were not immediately apparent on first nose: dark fruit, spice, sweet tobacco and black cherry. There is great tightness and laser focus to the fruit. I tasted the 2016 and 2015 vintages together for comparison when I scored this wine, and then I tasted this 2016 edition alone about a month later to confirm my impressions. These vintages are identical twins, two perfect wines.

This is so solid and powerful with incredible vertical dense that goes down and down on the palate. Compacted and thick with caressing and polished tannins that are powerful yet refined. Super concentration yet agile and energetic. This is a wine that needs time to come together and resolve all of its amazing components. Reminds me of the legendary 2001. Try after 2023.

A flashy style, featuring concentrated yet fluid flavors of blackberry, plum, violet, cedar and iron, wrapped in toasty, vanilla-scented oak. The acidity is vibrant and refined, but dense tannins provide support as this cruises to a long finish. Best from 2022 through 2045.

The 2016 Masseto is simply stunning. Fresh, vibrant and full of energy, the 2016 dazzles from start to finish. I can’t remember tasting a young Masseto with this combination of fruit density and silkiness. Just as it was from barrel, the 2016 Masseto is a wine of magnificent balance and proportion. The polish and sensuality of the tannins is simply remarkable for a young Masseto, especially compared to just a few years ago, when Masseto was often a bruiser right out of the gate. Two thousand sixteen was a year with a long summer and some drought, but no real extremes. Acidity is in line with vintages like 2006, but gentler winemaking with fewer pumpovers than in the past has given birth to a wine that is more finessed than those of the preceding decade.