Masseto 2000 600cl

The 2000 Masseto is an excellent choice for drinking now and over the next decade or so. Plum, blackberry jam, chocolate, licorice and spice infuse the 2000 with striking layers of nuance to play off its exotic, unctuous feel. Stylistically, the 2000 is very much on the extroverted side of things, although it does not have the spherical build of the very best Massetos. The growing season was marked by mostly warm, dry weather and an slightly early harvest that started at the end of August and wrapped up around the middle of September.

The 2000 Masseto is an excellent choice for drinking now and over the next decade or so. Plum, blackberry jam, chocolate, licorice and spice infuse the 2000 with striking layers of nuance to play off its exotic, unctuous feel. Stylistically, the 2000 is very much on the extroverted side of things, although it does not have the spherical build of the very best Massetos. The growing season was marked by mostly warm, dry weather and an slightly early harvest that started at the end of August and wrapped up around the middle of September.

The all-Merlot 2000 Masseto, warm, spicy, and very ripe in aroma, is broad and enveloping on the palate, lush, silky, and, again, rather ready, though the force and length on the finish suggest that there are easily a dozen years of life ahead of it. Ornellaia has been through some significant changes over the past several years. First with the departure of Lodovico Antinori and the arrival of the new owners, Mondavi and Frescobaldi, then with a double changeover of winemakers, first Andrea Giovannini (now at Monsanto) from 1999 to 2001, then Thomas Duroux, trained at Bordeaux and then the oenologist for the unsuccessful Mondavi Languedoc project. High quality, however, has been a constant – these have been Bolgheri’s best wines, along with those of Le Macchiole, over the past five years, and there is no indication of any change in the level of ambition.

The all-Merlot 2000 Masseto, warm, spicy, and very ripe in aroma, is broad and enveloping on the palate, lush, silky, and, again, rather ready, though the force and length on the finish suggest that there are easily a dozen years of life ahead of it. Ornellaia has been through some significant changes over the past several years. First with the departure of Lodovico Antinori and the arrival of the new owners, Mondavi and Frescobaldi, then with a double changeover of winemakers, first Andrea Giovannini (now at Monsanto) from 1999 to 2001, then Thomas Duroux, trained at Bordeaux and then the oenologist for the unsuccessful Mondavi Languedoc project. High quality, however, has been a constant – these have been Bolgheri’s best wines, along with those of Le Macchiole, over the past five years, and there is no indication of any change in the level of ambition.

Pretty blackberry, cherry and licorice aromas follow through to a full-bodied palate, with velvety tannins and a smoke-, berry- and chocolate-flavored finish. A pretty wine. This is soft and round compared with my tastings from last year.--Masseto non-blind vertical. Best after 2006. 2,500 cases made. ?JS

Pretty blackberry, cherry and licorice aromas follow through to a full-bodied palate, with velvety tannins and a smoke-, berry- and chocolate-flavored finish. A pretty wine. This is soft and round compared with my tastings from last year.--Masseto non-blind vertical. Best after 2006. 2,500 cases made. ?JS