THE PLACE
The Masseto hill is both a revelation and a mystery, as it majestically lifts its head to look out across the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The intuition of man has played an important part in understanding that in this very place something special would have happened, something which would have offered new, unique perspectives.
“This place is very natural, rough, unspoilt. It is quite a tough site. One would not expect it to be capable of producing this kind of wine.
We are always on the edge of making a great wine, and it can go either way.
But this vineyard always delivers. There is a real power here and it is really nature that makes all the important decisions.”
The sea is an integral part of every Masseto vintage.
In summer, its rippling surface acts as a vast mirror, amplifying the sun’s brightness. The refracted sea light – pure, intense and indirect – fuels the vines, mellowing the grape tannins to a voluptuous, subtly nuanced balance.
As light pours over the vineyard, the sea brews another element. Soft, moisture laden Aeolian breezes that slide between the vines and around the grape bunches. The cool air tempers the ripening process, prolongs the gentle evolution of a bracing, balancing acidity and ensures the fruit is refreshed in the driest months, and dry in the wettest.
Beneath the earth, a third marine influence is at work. Roots find their way into the tract of million-year-old blue clay on which the vineyard now sits. Once seabed, it is filled with minerals and fossils of the life that was.
Above, around and below. Sea. Without it, Masseto would not exist.
Unseen, beneath the vines, is an extraordinary seam of ancient seabed, transformed over millions of years into a rich blue clay, filled with fossils of the sea life that once abounded there. This is where terroir transcends the grape varieties and where the blue clays of the Pliocene Era tell their ancient story. Hard as stone and yet with an intriguing fragility, the clay adjusts to its environment and climate. This contrast is reflected in the intense power and silky elegance to be found in Masseto.
