Nowadays Super Tuscan is in vogue, but not so long ago nobody would have thought that Cabernet, much less elite Cabernet, could come from Central Italy...In this article, we will talk about Le Macchiole, one of the top five wineries in Bolgheri.
Until the 1980s, few people had heard of the quiet village of Bolgheri in the province of Livorno, except for the rare artists and tourists, and horse connoisseurs who appreciated the beautiful horses. Bolgheri is a tiny old village a stone's throw from the Tyrrhenian coast. Among the pioneers of Bolgheri was Eugenio Campolmi, who, like other winemakers in the region, decided to specialize in the production of quality red wines, but chose his path. Since 1975 he has been planting Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Syrah, and other varieties on his Le Macchiole estate. Already in the late 80s, Eugenio decided to create his first red wine - Paleo Rosso - one of the most unusual wines of Tuscany. At first, it was an assemblage of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese, but in 2001 it turned into 100% Cabernet Franc - a great rarity for Italy in principle. It is in this form that Il Paleo has won world fame and maximum critical acclaim. The name "Paleo" refers to the wild grass of the Tuscan coast and symbolizes local identity and strong will.
The Bolgheri appellation has not been an important player on the wine scene for very long - it was only in 1984 that this previously neglected site in the Tuscan periphery was "awarded" DOC status. There are 27 distinct soil types within Bolgheri, creating ideal conditions for reds with great aging potential. Le Macchiole started to develop this land in 1983, they carefully selected the vineyards that ended up scattered in different parts of the appellation. Since 2002, Le Macchiole has been growing grapes organically.
The Le Macchiole vineyards create three exceptional Super Tuscan wines: Paleo Rosso, Messorio, and Scrio. These wines have already achieved the status of being remarkable, along with their offerings of the white wine Paleo Bianco and the red Bolgheri Rosso.
Messorio is one of the great "super merlots" of Tuscany, as confirmed by the high scores of 95-97 points for the vintage. It is a spectacular wine with a vivid personality, far from the classic soft style of Merlot. It is produced in small quantities and is renowned for its superb quality, which has made it an object of hunt for collectors.
Scrio is one of Tuscany's top-rated wines. It is a pure expression of the Syrah variety, showing more affinity to the varietal when grown in France than in California, Australia, or even the rest of Tuscany. While the wine is varietal, it doesn't scream Syrah in any obvious or trite manner. This varietal performs well on poor soils. So, given that the soil composition of the Le Macchiole plots is rich in minerals, the winemakers had quite a challenge in making a decent Syrah wine. The peculiarity of this variety is also that when the young vine starts to grow actively, it throws out a lot of young shoots and leaves and produces very few berries. Le Macchiole practices dense planting of vines and strict berry selection, and thanks to this they achieve a quality harvest. However, this variety is quite difficult to work with, so the production volume is quite small - 3-4 thousand bottles of wine per year.
