Well after much anticipation and wanting to share this bottle with my father I decided to open one of my 2 bottles of '97 Masseto. This has one of the most powerful noses of any merlot on the market. It screams of baked blackberry with tobacco and fresh lillies. The color is an inky redish purple. The tannins are integrated with the mouthcoating fruit of blackberry, plum and velvety red fruits. As the wine opened up, a hint of dark chocolate appeared on the finish. We consumed this over 3 hours (not decanted). The finish was 40+ seconds. The acidity in the wine was plentiful without being overbearing. This will drink well for another 10+ yrs. 98pt nose and 96pt palate. This lives up to the hype of being one of the quintessential merlots of the world. BTW for those that are unaware this wine is not 100% merlot.It is 95% merlot and 5% petite verdot.

IW

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Great Notes, IW, regarding a very widely coveted bottle of wine.

Thanks for the note.

I have never had a Masseto I did not find very special.

Otis posted a tasting note of 100 points last month.

IW,
I had this wine 6 months ago with a good friend.
It was my first Masseto, and it was absolutely sublime. If I had to give it a score, it would be very similar to yours, but suffice it to say that it was amongst the top 3 wines I tasted in 2007. I'm glad I bought 3 of the 2001's.

I am opening this on Saturday. Last time we did not decant. Should I decant this time? Thanks for your thoughts.

IW

I always take decanting with caution. I was recently reading some old posts on ebob where people blindly decanted '47 Cheval and Petrus for 3 hours before digging in!

Your note above sounds like the wine was pretty enjoyable and expressive with no decanting. I'd say maybe 30 mins. to an hour beforehand based on your last note? What more would you hope to "decant" out of it that you did not get the first time around?

Tasted last Saturday at Scaramouche Restaurant in Toronto. Corkage was $30CDN.

This wine is truly a carressing and beautiful experience. Upon opening the nose was intoxicatingly fresh and vibrant with violets and lilacs at full bloom. The Sommelier said he was not drinking that night but thanked me for allowing him to smell this throughout the night.

The 1st sip was heavy and earthy which I find to be common in the 1st 10-15 minutes of well made super tuscans. At the 30 minute mark I had each person try it for the 1st time. It was velvety and full of blackberries, plum and earthy mushroom flavors. At this point I decided to decant half the bottle. Throughout the night the tannins and fruit became more integrated and the acidity moved from the front to the back of my palate. It was a great match with my lamb and my wife made the comment that it was one of the best wines she has ever tried. That put a big smile on my face. Unfortunately this is my last bottleof the '97. I will open the '01 in 3-4 years. The decanted portion was a little more velvety on the palate at the 90 minute mark. Both were truly outstanding though. Without a doubt the best merlot I have had. (Although I have not had Petrus before). 98pts.

IW

quote:

Originally posted by Italian Wino:

BTW for those that are unaware this wine is not 100% merlot.It is 95% merlot and 5% petite verdot.

IW

IW, where did you hear/read this?

I'm not saying you are not right, but that is news to me. I had an all-day private tour of the vineyard with the winemaker and guide, tasted every vintage from 1986 - 2001, and was told ( I thought) this is 100% Merlot.

I had the pleasure of walking the tiny 7 hectares, and thought I only saw Merlot.

Thanks in advance.

quote:

Originally posted by Italian Wino:

Without a doubt the best merlot I have had. (Although I have not had Petrus before). 98pts.

IW

Thanks for the note. I just love this wine!

On a side note, I find this bottle much more Le Pin like than Petrus like, but that is just me.

The 5% PV is something that was told to me in confidence from a person that worked at Masseto some time ago. It was done for the purpose of having a certain color in the wine. I believe this was only done in a few vintages and not every year. The '97 being one of them. I believe the 5% fruit came from another vineyard owned by Ornellaia. Keep in mind that this info could be incorrect, but the person that shared this with me a few years ago, seemed trustworthy.

I also have never had Le Pin.

IW

Here is some info I just found: This was written in 2005.

Tenuta Dell'Ornellaia comprises two individual estates, the original Ornellaia property, where the stylish, Napaesque (perhaps reflecting Ludovico's experience in California) winery is located, having been built in 1987, and then the later addition at Bellaria, north-west of Bolgheri. At Ornellaia there are 30 ha of vineyards dedicated to the production of Ornellaia and Le Serre Nuove, the grand vin and second wine, both Bordeaux blends of the two Cabernets and Merlot. In addition there is an 8 ha block planted exclusively to Merlot which gives rise to Masseto, one of Italy's leading examples of the type. There is also a little Petit Verdot which was planted in 1995, although according to winemaker Axel Heinz in order to avoid difficulties with the local authorities this is catalogued as Sangiovese! The vineyards range in altitude from 50 to 120m, with the Masseto vines sitting on clay-rich soils with numerous, irregular pebbles, whereas the Ornellaia vines grow on a mix of sand and clay.

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