La Massa Giorgio Primo Toscana 2017 – 750ml Not specified

95pts Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

This wine has a very special signature and a unique intensity that makes it stand out in a crowd. The Fattoria la Massa 2017 Giorgio Primo is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with a smaller part Petit Verdot. There are ripe fruit elements of blackberry and dark cherry that find a happy interaction with spice, leather and grilled steak gristle. The wine’s savory side is well developed and textured, giving it a firm grip as it wraps thickly over the palate. This is a gorgeous wine, but the 2016 is remembered for its profound definition and clarity of fruit. This 2017 expression is more open and rich instead.

94pts James Suckling

Intense cloves, ripe berries, sandalwood and cedar on the nose, following through to a medium to full body with firm, lightly chewy tannins and dusty texture. A blend of 65% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot and 5% petit verdot. Try drinking in 2022.

Winemaker Notes

Blend: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot

Rich, shining ruby with a black core. Intense nose with notes of molasses and licorice, then lots of elderberries and cassis. Substantial and dense in attack and course, opens in many layers of fine tannin, firm and grippy, juicy and with firm pressure in the finish.

After being inspired in Bordeaux, Giampaolo Motta left his family’s leather business behind in Naples and headed north to work in Chianti where he learned the art of winemaking. Working in Chianti and then in Bordeaux, he developed the practices and philosophy that he would come to embody at La Massa, where Giampaolo owns 27ha of vineyards in the Conca d’Oro (trans. The Golden Basin) of Panzano in Chianti. Acquiring this ancient, hilly property in 1991, with its vineyards that have been farmed since the 15th century, Giampaolo gained a reputation with the release of his first vintage of Giorgio Primo, one year later. Proceeding to produce two Chianti Classico wines until he decided to declassify in 2002, Giampaolo immediately gained and maintained a following.