Ornellaia Masseto Toscana IGT 2020

"Masseto" is a complex, elegant, and beautifully balanced wine, with its first vintage released in 1995. In homage to its strength, softness, and immense debt to the soil from which it originates, "Masseto" is named after the solid blocks of blue clay that form on the vineyard's surface. The 2020 vintage of "Masseto" now has a new DNA with the addition of Cabernet Franc to the iconic Merlot. The harvest is hand-picked into small 15 kg boxes. Each batch of grapes is vinified separately. After destemming and gentle pressing, the juice is transported to concrete tanks by gravity, without any pumping. Fermentation occurs spontaneously using native yeasts at a temperature of around 25-28 °C with two or three pump-overs per day and délestage when necessary. The total time in tanks ranges from 21 to 28 days. Then, malolactic fermentation begins in new oak barrels for 12 months, also separate for different batches. Subsequently, the batches are blended, and the wine is placed in French oak barriques for aging for 2 years. After bottling, the 2020 vintage was left to mature for another 12 months before being released to the market. "Masseto" is one of the most sought-after wines in the world, participating in the most important international competitions and consistently receiving excellent ratings from the best critics worldwide. The 2020 vintage of "Masseto" embodies all the characteristic features of the vintage. After a mild and rainy winter in 2020, a temporary drop in air temperature was observed in March: several nights in a row were below 0 °C right at the beginning of the bud burst period in the last week of the month. However, the budding shoots were still protected by the bud tissue, preventing frost damage. The remainder of spring was generally warm with normal rainfall, ensuring regular vegetative development until flowering, which occurred from May 20 to 25. In June, a period of heavy rain in the middle of the month was followed by a very long dry spell with virtually no rain and scorching temperatures until the end of August. Veraison occurred evenly and quickly from July 20 to 25, initiating the ripening of the grapes under the blazing sun. At the end of August, rains fell, leading to a noticeable drop in temperature, with nighttime lows reaching even 13 °C—ideal conditions for completing the ripening of Merlot. The harvest was completed early and quickly to maximize freshness and just in time to avoid a sudden week of heat when the thermometer reached 37 °C. The Merlot harvest was completed on September 14, followed closely by the Cabernet Franc harvest, which finished on September 16.