Masseto 2020 (750ML)

100 DE / 99 JS / 99 WI / 99 WE /99 JD / 98 VM / 98 JA / 97 WS / 96+ WA / 18 JR

#22 James Suckling's Top 100 Italian Wines of 2023

Intense and full on the nose, fragrant with ripe black fruit, floral aspects and soft spicing. Round and full on the palate, it's rich and muscular yet tight and neatly coiled with a liquorice, graphite, pepper, cinnamon and clove tang that gives this immediate but enjoyable spice. Feels well worked, juicy with high acidity that lifts the palate and gives freshness and brightness alongside really quite mouthwatering strawberry and raspberry fruit with such captivating dried floral and bitter orange rind aspects. Tannins are super fine and so well integrated yet this maintains a grip and hold from the very beginning through to a long and sustained finish. Nuanced and complex, still packing a punch in terms of power, but this feels sophisticated, suave, purposeful and controlled. Not elegant, this is more of a caged animal with it's full potential yet to be unveiled, but it is classy. A truly delicious wine with so much purity and sense of place. Malolactic fermentation in 100% new barroques, with each batch kept separate for the first 12 months of ageing before being blended and returned to barriques for another year, totalling 24 months. The wine was then aged for a further 12 months in bottle before being released. Winemaker Gaia Cinnirella. - Georgina Hindle, Decanter

Intense aromas of ripe herbs, plums, green coffee beans, and hazelnuts. Turns to crushed berries and orange peel. Full-bodied with superb concentration and fine, velvety tannins that run the length of the wine. It's big but agile and gorgeous. Merlot. What a wine! Best after 2030. - James Suckling

The 2020 Masseto, 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, is medium to deep garnet-purple in color. It slowly emerges from the glass with notes of plum preserves, blueberry compote, and chocolate-covered cherries, leading to a gorgeous perfume of star anise, lilacs, mocha, and tar. The palate is full-bodied and super-concentrated, with layer upon layer of black fruit preserves and savory accents, framed by wonderfully ripe, rounded tannins and beautifully knit acidity, finishing very long and opulent. This is classic Masseto! - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent

A hedge maze of aromas greets the nose, from blackberries and black cherries to crushed stones and crumpled petals, before a gentle addition of vanilla and toasted coconut. Mixed berries with vanilla and cardamom soak the palate, followed by freshly tilled dirt and flinty stone notes, and finally an astringent, brooding spiciness on the back. Tannins are tightly stitched together across the palate like a tapestry, with acrobatic acid emphasizing a salt and pepper finish. A wine that speaks volumes without shouting. — Danielle Callegari, Wine Enthusiast

A deep ruby/magenta hue, the 2020 Masseto is a highly compelling wine, offering seductive and seamless aromas of dark chocolate, Marasca cherry liqueur, crushed stones, lavender, sage oil, and vanilla bean. Full-bodied, with fantastic concentration and purity and even more depth and richness, it has plush tannins and fresh acidity that continues to weave through the wine, with notes of espresso crema and salted caramel that accent the palate and an incredibly long and even finish. Comparing it to the 2013, which was tasted alongside, this has more refinement in its texture and is one of the truly spectacular wines from this vintage. Drink 2028-2050.-Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck

The 2020 Masseto is superb. Bright and vibrant in the glass, the 2020 offers up an exciting mix of dark-toned fruit, mocha, spice, leather, tobacco, cedar and a kiss of French oak. Lively acids and Franc aromatics lend vibrancy throughout. The Franc is so evident today. This is exceptionally polished and sophisticated, albeit a touch slender relative to most years. In 2020, Masseto is more finesse than power. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

Raspberry plum colour, smooth and tender tannins, with fragrant, toasted cumin notes, deliciously drawn out flavours of supple raspberry, pomegranate, damson puree, with iris flowers as it opens. The whole thing is mouthwatering, juicy, intense and concentrated, utterly captivating. The Cabernet Franc amount has increased since its introduction with the 2019 vintage, and with it we are seeing a slight sculpting of the Masseto character. Harvest finished by September 16. This was a hot summer, followed by cooler temperatures during harvest, before heat arrived again mid September. 100% new oak, with 12 months in bottle after barrel ageing before release. Frescobaldi family owners, with Gaia Cinnirella winemaker since the 2021 harvest, so overseeing the ageing of this wine, with director Axel Heinz (with one of his final full vintages before heading to Bordeaux in 2023). - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

Complex, with a luscious texture and saturated plum, blackberry, black olive, iron, tobacco and toasty spice aromas and flavors, this red features a full, rich timbre. Offers a lively, well-integrated structure, with a long aftertaste of fruit and spices and a pleasant chalky feel. Merlot. Best from 2025 through 2043. - Bruce Sanderson, Wine Spectator

The 2020 Masseto now sees new DNA with a touch of Cabernet Franc added to this celebrated Merlot-based icon wine. This is a vintage of enormous richness and density, and everything about the wine is taken up a notch or two (including the bottle glass weight and the 15% alcohol content). But Axel Heinz and his team are well prepared for the hot vintages like 2020, and changes to farming and canopy management ensure even ripening. This wine is always hard to analyze in its youth. It needs many more years to soften and flesh out. Give it time. - Monica Larner, Wine Advocate

Highly concentrated on both the nose and the palate, this is chock-full of opulent black fruit. The tannins are highly polished and allow the fruit to take centre stage. This has a fleshy breadth but equally impressive depth. The wood spice is generous but matched by the fruit. Very seductive but perfectly balanced with bright acids keeping everything in check. (TP) - Jancis Robinson