2001  Castelgiocondo Riserva 'Ripe al Convento'

Castelgiocondo is produced from an uncompromising selection of the finest Sangiovese grapes, in a vineyard whose ideal elevation, well-drained soils, and southwest-facing exposure yield all of the qualities that converge to produce the finest expression of this ancient grape variety. It is an elegant, well-balanced wine of magnificent structure.

2016  Barolo

2015  

2014  Molsino

Molsino -- 94pts WA

2014  Valferana

Valferana -- 95pts WS

2016  

"Conterno’s 2016 Barolo Francia is effusive, with a real sense of expansiveness that gives the wine breadth. Sage, mint, cedar, tobacco and strong mineral accents complement a core of dark fruit in a Barolo of real gravitas. Just bottled a few months ago, the 2016 is going through a very rare period of approachability (in relative terms). It will almost certainly shut down within the next few months. Readers who are curious will want to taste it before that happens. In 2016, Roberto Conterno did not bottle his flagship Monfortino, all the casks were blended for the Barolo Francia." - 97pts Antonio Galloni

1995  

2016  

"The 2016 Barolo Arione is a sort of synthesis between the Cerretta and Francia. It has the red fruit profile and floral overtones of the former with a feeling of structure that recalls the later. Arione Barolos always have a distinctly wild, feral quality strong on iron and mineral notes, which is very much the case here. Logically, the 2016 needs a bit of time to soften, but it is super-impressive. It is perhaps a bit less polished than the Francia, but it also has a phenomenally long, classically austere finish. It’s the sort of wine I would like to spend a few hours with. In 2016, there is no Monfortino, so all of the Arione wine is in this bottling, unlike 2015, when a portion was blended into Monfortino." - 96pts Antonio Galloni

2001  Merlot

"The 2001 Montiano, 100% Merlot, offers the luxuriously sweet and expansive nose which has always characterized the wine. Full of plum, raspberry, and dark chocolate scents, along with a dense, deep, and velvety palate, it is full and round, with the super-polished tannins which make it one of Italy's touchstone Merlot bottlings. Drink: 2005-2018." -Wine Advocate

2017  

The clarity of the ripe blackcurrants, black cherries and flowers in the nose is entrancing. Lavender, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, silky tannins that run long and straight through the wine, providing brightness and focus. Goes on for minutes. Strength with finesse Drink after 2024, but already wonderful to taste. - 98pts JS ---- The 2017 Masseto is a spectacular wine in the making. Rich and sumptuous in the glass, the 2017 possesses off the charts intensity and plenty of structure as well. Red cherry jam, mocha, leather, licorice and a dash of new oak are all fused together in an opulent, seamless Masseto endowed with magnificent balance. The 2017 is quite simply a remarkable wine for such a challenging year. I can't wait to taste it from bottle. - 96-99pts AG/Vin ---- 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. This 2017 vintage will be released in October 2020. - 97pts WA

1990  

2017  

The clarity of the ripe blackcurrants, black cherries and flowers in the nose is entrancing. Lavender, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, silky tannins that run long and straight through the wine, providing brightness and focus. Goes on for minutes. Strength with finesse Drink after 2024, but already wonderful to taste. - 98pts JS ---- The 2017 Masseto is a spectacular wine in the making. Rich and sumptuous in the glass, the 2017 possesses off the charts intensity and plenty of structure as well. Red cherry jam, mocha, leather, licorice and a dash of new oak are all fused together in an opulent, seamless Masseto endowed with magnificent balance. The 2017 is quite simply a remarkable wine for such a challenging year. I can't wait to taste it from bottle. - 96-99pts AG/Vin ---- 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. This 2017 vintage will be released in October 2020. - 97pts WA