IR04918

Giorgio Primo, Toscana, La Massa 2018



£92.00

75cl ALC 15.5%

This very, very big, dense wine from Giampaolo Motta's La Massa estate will improve with age over ten years or so. Smoky, chocolate notes complement black prune fruit, derived from closely planted, south-facing vines.


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£92.00
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Details

Italy, Italy, Tuscany, Supertuscans

Still Red

50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot

Powerful

Drink or Keep

2018

15.5%

75cl

La Massa

La Massa is at the bottom of a long, steep drive where a beautiful villa and farm buildings stand in a clump of pine and cypress trees. Here you are, right in the heart of Chianti Classico, in an area known as the Conca d’Or or Golden Basin where four south-facing spurs are occupied by four of Chianti’s top producers. Owner Giampaolo Motta took over the estate in 1992 planting Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon on richly diverse soil types.

Here there are 22ha of vineyards and 30ha of forests at altitudes from 315m to 460m. Soils comprise clay schist unique to La Massa, and a white sandy schist, both marine in origin, overlaying deep sand and clay. Heterogeneous soil types mean site selection has been hugely important, and they carefully analysed all their soil compositions to select the perfect varietal clone to plant on each site. Driving up, down and across the property you pass plots of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet densely planted on a wide range of orientations and soil types. This is the crucial factor in lending great complexity to Giampaolo Motta’s wines while late harvesting gives them beautiful harmony and super-ripe tannins. Wireless weather stations all over the vineyards monitor rainfall, humidity and sunshine so they can respond rapidly to changing conditions. They use horse manure alongside cover crops to fix nitrogen as they are both sustainable. Pruning and green harvests are by hand to help fully express their terroir and minimise work in the cellar. All their vines face south and so all ripen early. They ferment and age separately, only blending at the end to create each masterpiece. In 2001 La Massa moved away from the Chianti Classico classification and have very successfully freestyled as Toscana IGT ever since. The winery blends seamlessly into the side of the hill but once inside, it is a homage to high-tech, ultra-modern wine making with gravity-fed vats and temperature-controlled barrel aging rooms all accentuated by a colour scheme which is a nod to Italian Formula 1 (black and white chequered flag floor tiles and Ferrari-red piping). Finished in 2012 it has resulted in even finer wines with increased definition and precision - these are Super Tuscans in every possible way."

All lines from this producer
Vintage guide

Last year’s vintage, 2023, proved complicated, good in the north but in central and southern regions, more tricky resulting in one of the smallest vintages of recent years. A dry winter followed by a hot summer has certainly affected yields in 2022, but the quality looks excellent across the country. Small but perfectly formed seems to sum up the 2021 vintage here. Across most of the country the 2020 vintage is looking very good indeed with ripe fruit and lovely aromatics. A classic if not straight forward vintage 2019 has delivered some excellent wines but in smaller quantity. Overall, the results are very good in 2018, though a warm wet early summer led to disease pressures in many parts of the country. The Northeast, home to Prosecco amongst others did particularly well; so too did Tuscany and Piedmont but yields were a little down in some estates. 2017 saw a small crop of excellent wines; spring frosts and a later heatwave nicknamed ‘Lucifer’ reduced yields, but you’ll find good results on the whole with excellent results in Piedmont. Yields were down in 2016 but quality is high, Piedmont and Tuscany at least as good as 2015. 2015 is generally an excellent vintage across Italy, perhaps reds having the edge over whites.

Reviews
Delivery information

STANDARD MAINLAND UK DELIVERY – up to 5 working days

Delivery is FREE on orders of £150 or more to a single address in mainland UK.

Please add £9.95 post & packing per delivery address for orders under £150.

Unless advised otherwise, you will normally receive your delivery in 5 working days.

ADDITIONAL CHARGES – delivery to remote UK postcodes

Our couriers can deliver to most geographically remote locations but do bear in mind that these do incur a higher delivery charge and will take longer to arrive.

Isle of Wight and Northern Ireland ‒ first case (up to 12 x 75cl) is charged at a flat rate of £25 then £10 per subsequent case.

Isles of Scilly, Isle of Man and Scottish Offshore Islands ‒ first case (up to 12 x 75cl) is charged at a flat rate of £30 then £10 per subsequent case.

Rates are automatically calculated at the checkout.

ORDERS FROM OUTSIDE THE UK

Orders placed from outside the UK will be accepted for UK delivery.

We do not export from the UK or deliver to: Channel Islands, BFPO