2008 le macchiole, messorio, toscana

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Bottle size (ML)

Why We're Buying

When people look for textbook IGT Toscana, they look at Le Macchiole. The Tuscan estate is responsible for Messorio, a 100 merlot that sells for more than $200 per bottle. The single-varietal wine is considered the estate's crown jewel due to its timeless elegance and graceful aging.

Critics Scores

Wine Spectator

Cool and aloof, in a restrained blueberry-, blackberry- and mineral-flavored way. Though concentrated, this is fresh, fluid and elegant, with a tightly wound finish. Requires patience. Merlot. Best from 2014 through 2028. (BS)

James Suckling

This is layered and juicy, with lots of chocolate and berries and loads of other stuff. Full and velvety, with a long finish. Racy, beautiful and vibrant. Pure Merlot. Give it another three years or so.

Stephen Tanzer

Saturated, purple-tinged ruby. Knockout multidimensional aromas of crushed blackberry, blueberry, iron, bitter chocolate, coffee and smoky oak. Offers great verve and depth on the palate, delivering extremely dense but magically refined flavors of black fruits, violet and bitter chocolate. Finishes with subtle, palate-staining persistence and firm, noble tannins. A great Messorio. (ID) 94+

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

This vintage marks another philosophical shift for this important Tuscan wine, especially in terms of tannin management. The 2008 Messorio sees 25 neutral oak. The idea was to return to mixed oak vessels, with new and neutral oak, for its 18-month aging period. This was also a difficult year that required very careful berry selection and lots of work to pick out the best fruit on the sorting table. Various vineyard parcels were harvested independently and vinified separately. But despite the fussiness, Le Macchiole had reached a point of winemaking maturity at this point that allows for more intelligent and innovative decisions. This wine has a long way to go and I'd venture that it's just barely entering its drinking prime. The bouquet is dark and sophisticated, but it is fluid and ever-changing as well. (ML)

Vinous

The 2008 Messorio is simply marvelous in this vintage. Layers of dark fruit take shape beautifully in the glass as this reticent Messorio shows off its pedigree. The 2008 is a decidedly inward wine that, once again, stands apart from some recent vintages. The 2008 is a mid-weight, refined Messorio endowed with tons of balance and sheer finesse. It will be a fascinating wine to follow in the coming years. The 2008 Messorio was aged for 14 months in the standard French oak barrique (75 new), a move away from the smaller barrels that had been used in past years. (AG)