Bolgheri, 09:18 A.M.
Messorio, first produced in 1994, Messorio was a personal challenge with one of the most planted varieties in Bolgheri, on the Tuscan coast, and in the world: Merlot. From the start, the idea was to transform the best bunches into an impactful wine with a lot of personality, staying as far away as possible from the more soft, predictable style that is often associated with Merlot and instead making a thoroughbred eager to win the race. The name “messorio” refers to the wheat harvest, one of the most fundamental parts of the agricultural cycle.
2016 was definitely one of the smoothest years of the past decade. No extreme weather conditions at all and rain seemed to fall when the vines most needed it: abundant in March, normal in May and June, heavy in late July and warm and sunny weather from August to mid-September. Optimum temperatures as well: a mild late winter season which was cause for concern, but then the basically cool spring slowed down the plants growth cycle that benefited from the warm but not scorching summer, with large night-day temperature swings. Vineyard canopy management aimed at lightening the foliage by removing the secondary shoots if necessary and extending the non-topped areas by performing the so-called accapannatura (long shoots twisted on the top wires) to leave the plant free to grow while preventing the excessive production of side shoots. The soils were repeatedly worked to balance the heat/humidity relationship in order to make the flowering and berry set stages easier. The growth of the bunches proceeded at a regular pace, the production was excellent and the ripeness perfect. ->
Denomination: Toscana IGT
First Vintage: 1994
Grape varieties: Merlot 100%
Vineyards: Vignone 1999, Puntone 1994
Training System: guyot and double cordon spur
Yield: 800 gr per plant
Harvest period: 2nd and 3rd week of September
Winemaking: fermentation and maceration for 30 days in concrete
Aging: 19 months in new oak barriques
Bottling: August 2, 2018