2019 Le Macchiole Messorio Rosso IGT

First produced in 1994, Messorio started as a personal challenge with one of the most planted varieties not only in Bolgheri, but across the Tuscan coast and throughout the world: Merlot. From the start, the idea was to take the best bunches and transform them into an impactful wine with a big personality, staying as far away as possible from the more soft, predictable style that is often associated with Merlot and instead making a thoroughbred eager to win the race. The name "Messorio" refers to the wheat harvest, one of the most fundamental parts of the agricultural cycle.

The 2019 can be summarized as a vintage with slow and very long ripening and with no excessive heat peaks. The beginning of the year was characterized by a winter with temperatures in line with the season, low rainfall, and a particularly dry climate, except for a slight spike in humidity towards the last week of January, conditions which led to poor development of green manure. The spring season was fluctuating, characterized by a particularly cold climate in the last two weeks of March, with a steady increase in temperatures throughout the month of April, which contributed to a slow and gradual sprout development. In May, low temperatures, and a substantial increase in rainfall, led to a sharp slowdown in the plants' vegetative development. A particularly hot and dry climate at the beginning of June, combined with the heavy rains of the previous month, contributed to a flourishing shoot development on the plants resulting in clusters that required repeated and targeted green management intervention for the entire summer period. The harvest period started slightly later than in previous years, with the harvest of white grapes in the fourth week of August and then continued with the Merlot grapes between the first and third week of September, along with the Syrah grapes, and concluded with the Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon varieties between the fourth week of September and the first ten days of October.