2014 Masseto
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Tasting notes
From a much-derided vintage, the nose actually has a green-flecked lightness of touch that has innate appeal of its own. Certainly less fruit-centric than its successors in 2015 and 2016 but there is a very good place for this lighter style. The palate is more developed and more drinkable as a result, too, and while the flavour resolution might be missing a few pixels here and there, this is still a great wine by any standards, with excellent balance and great enjoyability for now and the next five years. (RH)
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Cocoa bean, cocoa powder, blueberry and red cherry fruits, set against gentle grilled aromatics of cold ash and gunsmoke. This grips on tightly through the palate and has a sappy character to the tannins. The 2014 vintage saw a cool and rainy August then a long, slow harvest through to October 9 under largely sunny skies that allowed for full ripening, and this is a lovely, sculpted Masseto packed with Mediterranean spice, sage and olive pit. 100% new oak.
The 2014 Masseto continues to develop into a very pretty wine. Silky, medium in body and gracious, the 2014 is all about understatement. Each time I taste it, I uncover a new layer of dimension and nuance I did not see before. I expect the 2014 will develop along the lines of the 2005 and 2002, both wines from very cool, late-ripening years. This is the best showing yet for the 2014. This very challenging cool, rainy growing season is also the longest harvest at Masseto. Picking started on September 5 and wrapped up more than a month later, on October 7.
The 2014 Masseto has taken quite a bit of time to start to emerge. In that sense, it reminds me a bit of the 2008, another wine that took several years to be the least bit pleasurable. Masseto has a tremendous track record of aging, especially in cooler years. I think that will be the same here. Its best showing was at a recent complete vertical, where it was terrific, even in the company of all the truly great Massetos. Readers should expect a mid-weight, nervous, distinctly savory Masseto in 2014.
About the producer
Established in the 1980s by Lodovico Antinori on the advice of André Tchelistcheff, Masseto was one of Tuscany’s first pure Merlot wines. Sibling to Ornellaia, the Super Tuscan is often considered the Pétrus of Italy – offering powerful, perfumed wines that are highly sought-after by collectors.