Masseto to get its own winery

For the first time in 30 years Super Tuscan label Masseto is to have its own dedicated winery and cellar.

Some of the blue clay excavated during the building of the new winery

Work has begun on the new winery and cellar and should – it is hoped – be largely completed in time for the 2018 vintage.

Designed by the Zito+Mori studio, the new facilities will be completely underground beneath the old Masseto house – which is also being rebuilt.

Since its creation in 1987, Masseto has been produced in the same winery as its sister and fellow Super Tuscan label Ornellaia.

The two wines have always been treated as very separate entities however and, with both brands growing in stature in the fine wine market, with the building of a dedicated winery the Frescobaldi family is clearly making this division all the more obvious.

Alex Belson, director of Masseto, told the drinks business: “The estate has started excavations, delving deep into the heart of the Masseto hill, in order to lay the foundations for a dedicated winery that will be completed for harvest 2018. It has been amazing to witness the uncovering of these clays… blue, impenetrable and exceptional, hiding secrets of millions of years.”

Meanwhile, Eleonora Marconi, oenologist at Frescobaldi’s Castello di Nipozzano, has joined the Masseto team and will work under the supervision of head winemaker Axel Heinz.