Up against the 2007 at a dinner. This grew and grew throughout the evening and we were right to drink the 2007 first. This is the more complete wine even if 15% ABV Merlots are not my thing.
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Ordered at Wolfgang's and drank alongside a 2009 Ornellaia. Great with the steak and really lovely. Resolved tannins and pure, silky merlot goodness. However, will improve by a couple points in 10 years. Would love to try it again then.
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Drank alongside a standard 09’ Ornellaia, very similar profile but the Masseto was slightly more layered and complex. This is lovely right now but better if left alone for 8-10 more years. 94-95++
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Earth, cigar, ripe, big tannins, soft and silky, sort of modern right-bank style, quite dry with a tangy finish. Least fav of the '09, '10, and '12 flight, and maybe 2nd least fav of the entire tasting. Warm vintage tinkered too much in this wine. Masseto dinner at Rocco Borgese 1997-2015
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Within the first two hour of decanting, the nose was bleak but palate of good complexity. The wine comes alive after 5hr of decant with fruity nose, medium body and fantastic length. Though complexity starts to fade and tannin almost non-existent. Would come back and revisit this wine in 3 years.
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Au restaurant. Après avoir goûté, nous avons demandé de le passer en carafe ce qui a aidé. Couleur prune avec quelques nuances orangées. Arômes sur la vieille barrique pour commencer, ensuite à l’aération, on sent les notes de mocha, d’amandes grillées que j’associe volontiers au merlot d’une année chaude, puis truffes. La bouche est nettement supérieure, veloutée, complexe, balancée, soyeuse avec une belle longueur. Pas le meilleur millésime pour Masseto mais donne beaucoup de plaisir avec des pâtes à la truffe blanche. A boire.
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New York Wine Experience 2018 (New York Marriott Marquis): This was sublime, 99 seems high, but for me this is one of the best wines I have ever tried. Elegance, elegance and elegance. Cherry, plum, chocolate, spice with a delicate light smooth finish. The finish just kept going. The question is, can I justify the price tag? Maybe just one bottle
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Wine Spectator newbies; 10/18/2018-10/20/2018 (Marriott Marquis): Tried this both Thursday and Friday nights. On Thursday it came across as more tight and not giving up quite as much. On Friday more expressive, lots more red fruits. Still a lot of tannin and a general feeling that the wine is a baby. A nice wine though and something to try in maybe 10 years.
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Truffles with the SLDS (CFs): Extremely youthful. Plum, wild herbs, raspberry, smoky notes and redcurrant. Good punchy fruit on the palate, with plenty of tannin providing a good backing. More restrained than some other Massetos that I've had, this probably needs some more time before it really has a chance to strut its stuff.
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Two bottles at Xmas dinner: inky purple colour with slow legs; in nose and mouth aromas of raspberry, blackberry, cherry and vanilla; the body is medium/full with a smooth texture. Both bottles tasted nearly the same.
Excellent wine, however I liked the Grange 1997 more, who was served at the same time.
Poker night - Mostly double blind - Rayas, Masseto, Schrader, QC and etc. (Reston, Va): Double blind. Intense cassis, chocolate and strong graphite. Excellent concentration. Initial guess by all of us is cult cab. I start to notice Bordeaux like coolness. We start to guess high end Argentinian red. Really good wine. Once the label gets revealed, we all want the second pour. Yes, we all are label whores.
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Two bottles at a birthday dinner: deep crimson; smell and taste reminded on dark berries, cherry and some sandalwood; full body and silky texture; medium finish. Both bottles provided very similar taste.
My first encounter with a Masseto. And my opinion: excellent but not outstandig (these bottles and/or this particular vintage).
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Magnificently balanced vegetable mash. Deep gratification rises loftily prior to vanishing into thin air. An incredibly skillful wine. If you cast the veg mash aside I could see people giving the sheer winemaking magic a 98.
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Appearance: Clear, medium ruby color, legs. Nose: Clean, medium intensity aromas of cherry, plum, blossom, vanilla, green pepper and fresh cream. Developing. Palate: Dry, medium acidity, tannin, alcohol and body. Medium intensity flavors of cherry, vanilla and liquorice. Medium finish. Conclusion: Very good quality. Can drink now, but has potential to age.
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Carpe Vino!; 11/9/2014-11/15/2014 (Tuscany (Florence, Montalcino, Siena)): Obviously a normal person would wait to drink this wine - it's much too young to be trying now. But since we were all in Italy and no one had tried the Masseto we made a group purchase to check it out. Much more tannic and less approachable upon early try than the Messorio. This was a beautiful wine but even 4 hours into the dinner there was still a lot of evolution going on. Nice cherry flavor, good earth, some spice. Very interesting wine. Is it worth the money? Unclear, but I wouldn't turn someone down who wanted to pour me a glass.
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Medium bodied and in a finesse style, this early drinking vintage of Masseto serves up fresh, sweet, black raspberries, kirsch, espresso bean and smoky characteristics.
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Gambero Rosso 2013 (Metropolitan Pavilion): The nose showed intense, luxurious red and blue berry fruit, undergrowth and notes of sour green stems. On the palate, it was fresh yet intense with blue and black fruits and showing incredible structure that lead to a long palate-staining finish. This was a beautiful Tuscan Merlot that should be amazing in a few years’ time.
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Opened and decanted 3.5 hrs before serving. Dense, powerful aromatics of red and black cherry/berry with leather and espresso notes. Freshly crushed stones. Big, dense dark fruit filled palate with firm mineral backbone. Great acidity. Full bodied with a very long finish. Great bottle of wine.
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Tre Bicchieri - 2013 (NYC): Deep, dark fruit, plum, spicey, chewy tannins. After the ornellaia, this seemed a little hotter in terms of alc. Very good but ridiculously expensive.
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2013 Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri tour (Union Station, Chicago, IL): Nose: This is extremely big, rich, and extracted with a good dose of oak along with tones of vanilla, dark red fruits, spice tones, and some ripe tones of cherries. There is good depth, but the oak is certainly one of the first things you smell.
Taste: Full bodied with some big and chewy tannins along with medium acidity. The structure is very big and imposing. The oak is again very noticeable along with tones of dark red fruits, spice, dark red cherries, and vanilla tones.
Overall: The oak is extremely prominent on both the nose and palate. It isn't too overwhelming, but it is certainly there. This is on the bigger and rich side, but you can see the pedigree there though the oak is a bit blunt.
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Masseto Vertical with wine maker team - all Masseto's ever produced (Switzerland): Tasted at Masseto complete vertical, organized by Arvi. Very young nose, clearly primary and not yet overly complex. On the palate good fruit, tannins and acidity. I think this will be in the category of the "very solid" but not exceptional Masseto.
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7/14/2023 - Michael Mackenzie Likes this wine: 94 Points
Up against the 2007 at a dinner.
This grew and grew throughout the evening and we were right to drink the 2007 first. This is the more complete wine even if 15% ABV Merlots are not my thing.
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9/28/2022 - RayOB wrote: 91 Points
Drank in London
Nice but not enough for the price
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7/1/2022 - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Likes this wine: 95 Points
Ordered at Wolfgang's and drank alongside a 2009 Ornellaia. Great with the steak and really lovely. Resolved tannins and pure, silky merlot goodness. However, will improve by a couple points in 10 years. Would love to try it again then.
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7/1/2022 - SonnyChiba wrote: 95 Points
Drank alongside a standard 09’ Ornellaia, very similar profile but the Masseto was slightly more layered and complex. This is lovely right now but better if left alone for 8-10 more years. 94-95++
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2/28/2022 - peternelson Likes this wine: 91 Points
Earth, cigar, ripe, big tannins, soft and silky, sort of modern right-bank style, quite dry with a tangy finish. Least fav of the '09, '10, and '12 flight, and maybe 2nd least fav of the entire tasting. Warm vintage tinkered too much in this wine. Masseto dinner at Rocco Borgese 1997-2015
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4/3/2021 - skyblue80 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Within the first two hour of decanting, the nose was bleak but palate of good complexity. The wine comes alive after 5hr of decant with fruity nose, medium body and fantastic length. Though complexity starts to fade and tannin almost non-existent. Would come back and revisit this wine in 3 years.
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12/10/2019 - hprphf wrote: 93 Points
Acker BYO 2019 (Tribecal Grill): It is very light and afloat, almost at another layer above the actual weight. Fresh jammy fruit. 93+
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12/6/2019 - Ericsson wrote: 93 Points
Au restaurant. Après avoir goûté, nous avons demandé de le passer en carafe ce qui a aidé.
Couleur prune avec quelques nuances orangées.
Arômes sur la vieille barrique pour commencer, ensuite à l’aération, on sent les notes de mocha, d’amandes grillées que j’associe volontiers au merlot d’une année chaude, puis truffes.
La bouche est nettement supérieure, veloutée, complexe, balancée, soyeuse avec une belle longueur.
Pas le meilleur millésime pour Masseto mais donne beaucoup de plaisir avec des pâtes à la truffe blanche.
A boire.
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10/19/2018 - Alexander Smith Likes this wine: 99 Points
New York Wine Experience 2018 (New York Marriott Marquis): This was sublime, 99 seems high, but for me this is one of the best wines I have ever tried. Elegance, elegance and elegance. Cherry, plum, chocolate, spice with a delicate light smooth finish. The finish just kept going. The question is, can I justify the price tag? Maybe just one bottle
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10/18/2018 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Wine Spectator newbies; 10/18/2018-10/20/2018 (Marriott Marquis): Tried this both Thursday and Friday nights. On Thursday it came across as more tight and not giving up quite as much. On Friday more expressive, lots more red fruits. Still a lot of tannin and a general feeling that the wine is a baby. A nice wine though and something to try in maybe 10 years.
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7/29/2017 - CamWheeler wrote: 92 Points
Truffles with the SLDS (CFs): Extremely youthful. Plum, wild herbs, raspberry, smoky notes and redcurrant. Good punchy fruit on the palate, with plenty of tannin providing a good backing. More restrained than some other Massetos that I've had, this probably needs some more time before it really has a chance to strut its stuff.
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12/24/2016 - Fatty Cat wrote: 93 Points
Two bottles at Xmas dinner: inky purple colour with slow legs; in nose and mouth aromas of raspberry, blackberry, cherry and vanilla; the body is medium/full with a smooth texture. Both bottles tasted nearly the same.
Excellent wine, however I liked the Grange 1997 more, who was served at the same time.
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7/22/2016 - dcwino wrote: 95 Points
Poker night - Mostly double blind - Rayas, Masseto, Schrader, QC and etc. (Reston, Va): Double blind. Intense cassis, chocolate and strong graphite. Excellent concentration. Initial guess by all of us is cult cab. I start to notice Bordeaux like coolness. We start to guess high end Argentinian red. Really good wine. Once the label gets revealed, we all want the second pour. Yes, we all are label whores.
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4/30/2016 - Fatty Cat wrote: 93 Points
Two bottles at a birthday dinner: deep crimson; smell and taste reminded on dark berries, cherry and some sandalwood; full body and silky texture; medium finish. Both bottles provided very similar taste.
My first encounter with a Masseto. And my opinion: excellent but not outstandig (these bottles and/or this particular vintage).
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4/23/2016 - SlimShaney wrote: 93 Points
Magnificently balanced vegetable mash. Deep gratification rises loftily prior to vanishing into thin air. An incredibly skillful wine. If you cast the veg mash aside I could see people giving the sheer winemaking magic a 98.
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2/22/2015 - Turgut Tokgoz Likes this wine: 90 Points
Appearance: Clear, medium ruby color, legs.
Nose: Clean, medium intensity aromas of cherry, plum, blossom, vanilla, green pepper and fresh cream. Developing.
Palate: Dry, medium acidity, tannin, alcohol and body. Medium intensity flavors of cherry, vanilla and liquorice. Medium finish.
Conclusion: Very good quality. Can drink now, but has potential to age.
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11/14/2014 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine: 96 Points
Carpe Vino!; 11/9/2014-11/15/2014 (Tuscany (Florence, Montalcino, Siena)): Obviously a normal person would wait to drink this wine - it's much too young to be trying now. But since we were all in Italy and no one had tried the Masseto we made a group purchase to check it out. Much more tannic and less approachable upon early try than the Messorio. This was a beautiful wine but even 4 hours into the dinner there was still a lot of evolution going on. Nice cherry flavor, good earth, some spice. Very interesting wine. Is it worth the money? Unclear, but I wouldn't turn someone down who wanted to pour me a glass.
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7/31/2014 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Medium bodied and in a finesse style, this early drinking vintage of Masseto serves up fresh, sweet, black raspberries, kirsch, espresso bean and smoky characteristics.
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3/20/2013 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 94 Points
Gambero Rosso 2013 (Metropolitan Pavilion): The nose showed intense, luxurious red and blue berry fruit, undergrowth and notes of sour green stems. On the palate, it was fresh yet intense with blue and black fruits and showing incredible structure that lead to a long palate-staining finish. This was a beautiful Tuscan Merlot that should be amazing in a few years’ time.
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2/20/2013 - MatthewF wrote:
Opened and decanted 3.5 hrs before serving. Dense, powerful aromatics of red and black cherry/berry with leather and espresso notes. Freshly crushed stones. Big, dense dark fruit filled palate with firm mineral backbone. Great acidity. Full bodied with a very long finish. Great bottle of wine.
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2/16/2013 - Outplaying Likes this wine:
Tre Bicchieri - 2013 (NYC): Deep, dark fruit, plum, spicey, chewy tannins. After the ornellaia, this seemed a little hotter in terms of alc. Very good but ridiculously expensive.
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2/12/2013 - KeithAkers wrote: 87 Points
2013 Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri tour (Union Station, Chicago, IL): Nose: This is extremely big, rich, and extracted with a good dose of oak along with tones of vanilla, dark red fruits, spice tones, and some ripe tones of cherries. There is good depth, but the oak is certainly one of the first things you smell.
Taste: Full bodied with some big and chewy tannins along with medium acidity. The structure is very big and imposing. The oak is again very noticeable along with tones of dark red fruits, spice, dark red cherries, and vanilla tones.
Overall: The oak is extremely prominent on both the nose and palate. It isn't too overwhelming, but it is certainly there. This is on the bigger and rich side, but you can see the pedigree there though the oak is a bit blunt.
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1/16/2013 - MilaBuchelska wrote: 91 Points
Rich,solid and deep.Drying,persistant tannins,very fresh,mediterranean character.
Spicy,red berries,blackcurrant,cacao,cinnammon,leather,oaky luscious notes.
Generous,complex and concentrated.
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11/17/2012 - Collector1855 wrote: 93 Points
Masseto Vertical with wine maker team - all Masseto's ever produced (Switzerland): Tasted at Masseto complete vertical, organized by Arvi. Very young nose, clearly primary and not yet overly complex. On the palate good fruit, tannins and acidity. I think this will be in the category of the "very solid" but not exceptional Masseto.
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