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Tenuta La Massa to release its flagship wine on the Place de Bordeaux

18 May 2023 By Arabella Mileham

Tuscan wine estate Tenuta La Massa is looking to garner wider recognition for its top wine, Giorgio Primo, which will be launched on the Place de Bordeaux in September’s as part of the annual hors Bordeaux releases.

Estate founder Giampaolo Motta said the opportunity to distribute its “iconic” top tier wine which represents the “quintessence” of it winemaking approach into markets worldwide was “the fulfilment of a dream”.

“La Place de Bordeaux is, by universal acknowledgement, the most prestigious marketplace and distribution network for world-class wines, with particular emphasis on rarities and wines coveted by collectors,” he said. “It is supported by more than 300 négociants, who sell to more than 170 countries across the globe.”

Tenuta La Massa was founded by Motta in 1992 in Chianti’s Conca d’Oro in Panzano, with 25 hectares of southwest-facing vineyards planted in schist clay, galestro marl and limestone to created “distinctive wines that are a true reflection of the terroir”.

Motta added that it was a fitting move to release on La Place as the estate’s winegrowing philosophy had always reflected “a French style and an international spirit”.

The launch of the Giorgio Primo 2019 is being coordinated by Barre & Touton’s Les Vins d’Ailleurs – a new office of the long-established firm of courtiers that was created to deal with the growing number of hors Bordeaux releases on La Place, and headed up by Laurent Dufau.

Dufau said the team were delighted to represent Giorgio Primo and the winemaking philosophy of Tenuta La Massa. “We are honoured to accompany Tenuta La Massa on this new adventure and to offer their wines to the world through Place de Bordeaux,” he said.

It will be offered through a select group of négociants, including La Bordelaise des Grands Vins, Crus et Domaines de France, Maison Descaves, Dubos, Joanne Rare Wines & Millesima, the company confirmed.

The first Tenuta La Massa wine to be distributed on Place de Bordeaux will be Giorgio Primo 2019, a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot, which the company described as the “culmination of continuous, painstaking efforts to achieve perfection, both in vineyard management and in winemaking practices” that “creates a complex, symphony of aromas in the glass”.

The 2019 growing year was characterised by normal weather with groundwater reserves filling up during the winter and spring, which helped the vines to cope with the summer heat. There was some rain during the warm summer, and cooler temperatures during the harvest in late September helped preserve the grapes’ “crisp, elegant aromatics”.

“That courageous decision to await peak ripeness, the outstanding combination of temperatures and rainfall, and the excellent management of the macerations and maturations in oak meant that we have delivered beautifully balanced wines with exceptional polyphenol concentrations,” Motta said.

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