Bordeaux
Timed Online Auction, 28 March - 15 April 2024
Bordeaux
About the SessionA carefully curated selection of highly sought-after collectables of Bordeaux and Bordeaux-style SA wines.
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About this Item
Masseto is a unique and magical place, surrounded by forests and caressed by sea breezes. It lies on Italy’s Tuscan coast, overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea near the small village of Bolgheri, on an unlikely slope, planted entirely to Merlot. Blessed with the presence of blue clay, Masseto wines are known for their unmistakable character. According to Masseto, their wines were never meant to exist, as planting vines on that unused hillside was against all advice and local tradition. Fortuitously, the potential of the site was seen in the 1980s and the first vines were planted. The winemaking is kept very simple. Their goal is simply to capture the essence of nature and take it to the highest level. The entire project is all about their amazing, very challenging vineyard and making wine with great simplicity. It is one of the most famous Super Tuscan wines and is made by Tenuta dell'Ornellaia. The wine is known for its aromatic complexity, opulent fruit and tannic structure, and is consistently regarded as one of the top wines in the world with auction prices to match. It is classified as IGT Toscana.
Producer Notes: The hallmark of Masseto is its power and impressive tannic structure. The 2007 vintage displays, in addition, an overwhelming elegance and complex wealth of aromatics, boasting impressions of perfectly ripe red and dark berry fruit, along with balsamic notes of wild herbs, smooth spices, and cocoa. The mouthfeel is dense, rich, intense, with glossy, silk-smooth tannins. A very long, leisurely finish reveals a good vein of acidity and concludes clean and fresh.
Michael Egan Authentication code - 2371 / 2372
Provenance
The Coats Family Cellar is arguably the most prestigious fine wine collection ever offered in South Africa. It contains a deep collection of the worlds finest, most sought-after wines, spanning over 150 years. Collected over many decades, the cellar was imported from Ireland to South Africa via reefer. Each bottle within the Coats Family Cellar was authenticated by Michael Egan in August 2022 and given an ID number for tracking.
Michael Egan is a world-expert in fine and rare wines with more than thirty five years of experience. He was the principal expert for the plaintiff in the two major wine counterfeiting trials in Koch v. Eric Greenberg and United States v. Rudy Kurniawan, both of which occurred in 2013.
Along with Michael Egan, the Strauss & Co Fine Wine team have tasted extensively through the cellar and are confident of the wine storage and hence quality. The entire collection is currently stored at Wine Cellar.
Critics Ratings
‘A perfect wine from a classic vintage, the 2007 Masseto (100% Merlot from a 17-acre vineyard of the same name) opens with an unabashedly opulent bouquet of delicious blackberry, cherry, chocolate, vanilla, exotic spice and cinnamon. Masseto excels both in terms of quality of fruit and winemaking and delivers plush, velvety tannins and an extra long, supple finish. It will make a special and valuable collection to your cellar.’ - Wine Enthusiast, 100/100 (Dec 2010)
'Rich, sumptuous and exotically beautiful, the 2007 Masseto is off the charts. The year got off to a very warm, dry start, but then cooler weather in August allowed for the vines to find their balance. All the best elements of Masseto and the house style come together in this truly memorable wine. Dark red fruit, espresso, mocha and wild flowers flesh out in a resonant, stunningly beautiful Tuscan red that hits all the right notes. Wow!' - Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 98/100 (Jan 2018)
‘The estate’s 2007 Masseto is fabulous. Loads of black cherry, blackberry and cassis are intermingled with minerals, violets and French oak. This is an especially sensual Masseto that impresses for its clarity, intensity and length. The wine’s pedigree is impossible to miss, in fact in one of my blind tastings it was immediately identifiable; the class and sheer personality of Masseto came through in spades. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2027.’ - Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate, 96/100 (Oct 2010)
‘Features a bouquet of ripe plum, cherry, fruitcake and iron. Round and rich, displaying ripe cherry, plum, cedar, cigar box and iron flavors, this is very open, with a touch of heat on the long finish. Close to ready. Best from 2019 through 2035.’ - Bruce Sanderson, Wine Spectator, 93/100 (2018)
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