1. Home/
  2. Wine Directory/
  3. Italy/
  4. Tuscany/
  5. 2017 Masseto, Toscana

$MASS 

2017 Masseto, Toscana

Bottle size (ML)

Current price

$657
Masseto, Toscana 11607432017

Start Your Wine Collection with 2017 Masseto, Toscana

  • IconBegin your portfolio with a prestigious wine that has a history of growth.
  • IconEnjoy fully managed, secure storage facilities with insurance coverage.
  • IconGet expert advice on when to hold and when to sell.

Critics Scores

WINE SPECTATOR
95

Wine Spectator

There's a meaty character to this intense, polished red, adding a seriousness to the dark plum, blackberry, iron, vanilla and chocolate flavors. A beam of bright acidity keeps this focused and drives the fruit- and spice-filled finish. Merlot. Best from 2022 through 2042.

JEB DUNNUCK
96

Jeb Dunnuck

The 2017 Masseto is another stunning wine from this benchmark estate, and along with Petrus, they fashion one of the greatest expressions of Merlot out there. The 2017 reveals a deep ruby/purple hue as well as a captivating bouquet of ripe black cherries, currants, dried herbs, leather, spicy oak, and tobacco, with even a touch of forest floor coming through with time in the glass. Concentrated, medium to full-bodied, and structured on the palate, it has loads of minerality, a seamless texture, ripe (yet certainly present) tannins, and a great finish. While it shows the sunny style of the vintage aromatically, it's tight and backward on the palate and in need of 4-5 years of bottle age. It's going to keep for 30-40 years.

ROBERT PARKER'S WINE ADVOCATE
97

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The Masseto 2017 Masseto puts on another exhilarating, knock-out performance for the third year in a row. The Masseto vineyard is a triangular-shaped plot tucked in at the back of the same property that houses the Ornellaia vineyards and winery. This special site is located at the base of the mountains that rise gently from the Tyrrhenian Sea, with the picturesque silhouette of the Castiglioncello castle at the top. The vines are planted at an altitude of 80 to 100 meters above sea level in blue clay soils that are unique to Bolgheri. That ideal position opens the vineyards to soft breezes, proximity to the sea, long daylight hours and cool diurnal shifts from the protective wall of low mountains at the back. It's a little garden of Merlot Eden. The center of the vineyard now is home to the new Masseto winery and an adjacent tasting room built into a pre-existing farmhouse. This wine was made in the old winery (the existing Ornellaia winery). Fermentation kicks off in a combination of steel and oak tanks before the wine is racked over to barrique, where it rests for two years. The wine then goes into bottle for 12 months before its release. Like most vintages of Masseto tasted this early in the game, the oak is omnipresent, and it grounds the wine in terms of texture and structure. It is powerful, but that's always the case with Masseto (this vintage records a 15.5 alcohol content). I tasted this wine next to the decidedly more playful Massetino, and the Masseto moves over the palate with substantial fruit weight and concentration gained over the course of this hot and dry growing season (which produced smaller, richer and more compact berries). Perhaps, what this vintage lacks is that profound varietal character that we saw in recent vintages like 2016 and 2015. If concerned that the hot vintage would draw out too many ripe fruit tones, the oak serves to soften some of the more volatile components of the fruit. Those distinctive notes of macchia mediterranea (wild bush) that I always associate with Masseto are less present in this vintage. You feel the oak tannins on the finish with toast and vanilla that will certainly shed as the wine ages. In fact, I went back to taste the wine 12 hours later, and they had already softened considerably

Region Summary

Tuscany is one of the most iconic and prolific wine regions. It’s home to celebrated newcomers like Super Tuscans, as well as revered sub-regions steeped in centuries of tradition like Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino. The wide selection of age-worthy wines combined with affordable entry prices and strong historical performance makes Tuscany the rare region with something for everyone.

Why We're Investing

Tuscany is an embarrassment of riches. The idyllic Mediterranean climate plays host to many of Italy’s more than 350 authorized grapes. That includes native varieties like sangiovese as well as international staples like cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and syrah. The inherent diversity gives local winemakers the ultimate viticultural sandbox. The best example of Italian innovation is the Super Tuscan. First released in the 1970s, the red wine blends native grapes with international ones unsanctioned by the Italian legal system. Eventually, this style became so popular that lawmakers yielded and gave Super Tuscans their own designation. Today, Super Tuscans, such as Sassicaia, Solaia, Ornellaia, and Tignanello, rank among the most sought-after wines on the secondary market. Tuscany is far from a one-trick pony, though. Brunello di Montalcino has an ever-expanding global audience. With the success of the 2015 and 2016 vintages, estates like Biondi Santi, Casanova di Neri, and Poggio di Sotto have become household names. Meanwhile, Chianti has undergone its own renaissance. In 2011, it had zero labels traded on the secondary market. Today, buyers have dozens of Chianti options such as Castello di Ama and Fontodi. Critics have taken notice of Tuscany, too. James Suckling called Masseto his Winery of the Decade, with its pure merlot heralded as “the Petrus of Tuscany.” That’s not all. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate has given Italian wines more perfect scores than all but three countries. The positive reviews are a good omen since Tuscan wines have a strong correlation with critic scores. Now, wine buyers should be hearing alarm bells in their heads. “High quality wines. International demand. Glowing critic scores. These wines must cost a fortune.” Not so fast. Tuscany offers the second most affordable entry point into the fine wine market, behind only the Rhône. In fact, its reasonable prices and high quality have allowed Tuscany to siphon interest from merchants and collectors away from stalwarts like Burgundy and Bordeaux.

What's the Latest

This tectonic shift is best seen in the secondary market. In 2013, Italy accounted for less than 2 of trade by value. By 2018, it reached 8.5 and today enjoys a double-digit share of the market. That makes Tuscany the most traded wine region outside of France. Even with a volatile global economy, the Liv-ex Italy 100 index notched 9.2 growth in 2022. That ranks third amongst all indices last year. It gets even better. As the name suggests, the index features a range of wines from Italy. The Tuscan components - such as Masseto, Sassicaia, and Solaia - outperformed their counterparts from Piedmont during that span, 12.2 to 5.3. When the economy slowed in 2022, buyers flocked to invest in Super Tuscans. Their blend of history, high liquidity, and strong relative value made Super Tuscans attractive portfolio diversifiers. The red wine had such high demand that it accounted for a whopping 22.1 of all Italian wines traded on the secondary market.

Looking Forward

If the future of the fine wine market were summarized in one word, it would be “broadening.” Ten years ago, Bordeaux had a stranglehold on the industry, accounting for 96 of trade. In recent years, that grip has loosened as buyers seek out great wines from other regions, including Tuscany. The increased interest has resulted in the number of traded Tuscan labels doubling every two years. There’s no reason to think that trend will slow anytime soon. Super Tuscans have cemented the region at the highest echelon of fine wine, while Brunello di Montalcino and Chianti keep buyers coming back for more. Tuscany is also well-positioned to handle the climate crisis. The Mediterranean climate and undulating landscape should mitigate some of the severe consequences of a constantly warming planet. The region’s widespread embrace of sustainable practices doesn’t hurt, either. Time will tell how the heat and rain, or lack thereof, will impact Tuscan viticulture. For now, the region’s future remains as bright as ever.