After a mild and rainy winter, March saw a temporary drop in temperatures, with a few nights below 0&deg;C at the very beginning of budding in the last week of the month. However, the newly opened shoots were still protected by the cottony tissue of the bud, which made it possible to avoid damage from frost.
The rest of spring included generally warm weather with normal rainfall, ensuring regular vegetative development until flowering, which took place between 20 and 25 May.
June had an intense rainy period towards the middle of the month, followed by a very long period of drought until the end of August. The veraison was homogeneous and rapid between 20 and 25 July. Rains came at the end of August and brought a considerable drop in temperatures, with night lows reaching as low as 13&deg;C: ideal conditions for the Merlots to complete their ripening.
They were harvested early and quickly to preserve maximum freshness and just in time to avoid a sudden heat wave lasting a week, where the temperatures reached as high as 37 degrees. The Merlot harvest was completed on 14 September, followed almost immediately by the Cabernet Franc harvest which ended on 16 September.

All vintages

MASSETINO

&ldquo;Freedom so high when we are all bound by laws Etched in the scheme of nature&rsquo;s own hand&rdquo;

Since the birth of Masseto, an extremely strict selection of the grapes has always been carried out in order to guarantee the highest possible quality. In 2017 some of the wines of some recently replanted Merlot and Cabernet Franc parcels, delimited now by a majestic dry-stone wall, were considered for Masseto. While some parcels had not yet developed enough character to be included in Masseto itself, others showed sufficient promise and personality to warrant consideration, along with other components not utilized in the master-blend, for the creation of a second vin &ndash; Massetino.
The inaugural vintage of Massetino was 2017, released in 2019, precisely 30 years after the first vintage of Masseto. The Masseto winery, designed by the Italian Architects Zito &amp; Mori, was finished and inaugurated during that same year. The birth of the second wine and the opening of the Masseto winery was a seminal moment in Masseto&rsquo;s history and the consecration of Masseto as an Estate.
'Massetino&rsquo;s personality is already self-assured as it shares the same pedigree as Masseto. Just like its elder sibling it juxtaposes power and opulence with discretion and classicism.&rsquo;

The second vin of Masseto

In the early 1980s the first vines were planted on the west facing clay rich soils of the Masseto hillside. Geological studies had sug gested that this might be a special site and the battles between the celebrated oenologist Andr&eacute; Tchelistcheff and the founder to plant Merlot instead of the safer choice of Cabernet Sauvignon are legendary. From the very first harvest the unique personality of the wines from this vineyard planted along a vein of Plyocene blue clay were clear for all to see (and taste). More than 30 years have passed since those initial steps.

MASSETINO

The inaugural vintage of Massetino was 2017, released in 2019, precisely 30 years after the first vintage of Masseto. The birth of the second wine and the opening of Masseto winery during the same year, were both seminal moments in Masseto history. Just like its elder sibling it juxtaposes power and opulence with discretion and classicism.

MASSETO

GENESIS

Massetino

2017 will be remembered as one of the hottest and driest vintages in recent history.
Due to an unusually mild winter with temperatures 3&deg;C above average, budbreak occurred two weeks earlier than usual. Apart from a brief period of cold weather towards the end of April, the entire growing season was dominated by warm and dry weather, leading to a reduced development of the canopy.
Flowering and fruit set went well, but due to the lack of water cluster and berry sizes stayed small.
July and August stayed hot and virtually without rain, but fortunately with sufficiently cool nights.
Harvest started early on the 24th August and was completed very quickly in less than one week, to preserve freshness and avoid over ripeness.

2017

Winter 2018 showed cold weather and even few days of snow which we had not seen for years.
Things changed quickly from March onwards with one of the rainiest springs in Masseto&rsquo;s history. At the same time temperatures, were higher than average, which led to a rapid vegetative growth, culminating in flowering which occurred one full week earlier than normal.
While temperatures came back to the norm in May, the high amount of rain created a high level of disease pressure, especially for downy mildew. Only through perfect vineyard management it was possible to get control of the disease keeping canopies and grapes healthy.
In July mostly sunny and warm weather allowed for a little rest before veraison stepped in timely around the 22 July. August was warm with a bit of rain around the 15th, which prevented the appearance of any major hydric stress.
Harvest started on 31st August with the youngest gobelet-trained vines; one week later we started picking the older vines. Differences between parcels within Masseto were particularly marked, leading to a very long harvest that was concluded only on 4th October and yielded 9 different vinification lots.

2018

The 2019 growing season was characterised by a highly variable climate, which alternated periods of cold and rain with long bouts of drought and heat.
After a rather normal winter, budding took place during the first week of April. Cold and rainy conditions throughout April and May considerably slowed down the development of the vegetation, delaying flowering up to 10 days later than usual.
In June, the climate suddenly turned hot and dry, with peak temperatures of 37&deg;C reached at the end of the month. All summer long the weather remained hot and sunny, with temperatures 2&deg;C higher than average and 45 consecutive days without rain.
In the last week of July, the long period of drought was interrupted by two days of rain, bringing back the temperature to the seasonal norm, with ideal conditions for grape ripening. After another set of rain showers at the beginning of the month, Merlot harvest began on 5th September with the young vines and went on until 20th September under perfect conditions.
Harvest was completed with the Cabernet franc on 1st October.&nbsp;

2019

2020

2021 began with a rainy and mild winter that replenished the soil's water reserves.
After a dry March, budding took place in the first two weeks of April. The gradual rise in temperatures, with normal rainfall, allowed the shoots to grow steadily, leading to blossoming in excellent conditions at the end of May. Perfect summer weather set in from June onwards, with slightly higher than average temperatures and almost no rainfall, leading to veraison in the last week of July. The dry weather lasted throughout August and September.
In spite of this, the spring rains gave the calcareous-clayey soils the ability to release sufficient reserves to the plant to avoid debilitating stress, resulting in concentrated grapes with high quality potential.

2021

The 2022 vintage was characterised by a rather standard winter, with temperatures close to the seasonal average, followed by a cool and dry spring. This led to budding dates that were slightly later than usual. Starting at the end of May, however, temperatures were already quite high, with a long period of hot weather and drought lasting around 75 days, affecting the natural cycle of our vines. Fortunately, these weather conditions were followed by rainfall, in the form of characteristic summer storms, which relieved the situation, restoring the physiological balance of the vines as they prepared for the 2022 harvest. September was ideal for the accumulation of sugars, aromas and tannins, thanks mainly to cool overnight temperatures. The harvest took place in excellent conditions, allowing us to choose the ideal harvest date for each individual parcel of land. The first Merlot grapes were harvested on 6 September and the harvest ended on 9 October with the Cabernet Franc grapes.&nbsp;