2016 Masseto: Record Vintage With 2 x 100p First Time In History

From Ornellaia To Masseto

For the expert in the greatest Italian wines, Masseto is far from a new acquaintance, as Masseto is first and foremost one of the greatest of the Super Tuscans, but at the same time it is also the most exclusive if focus is availability and price.

But Masseto was actually created as a descendant of another Super Tuscan. Sassicaia, the No. 1 Italian superbrand, was also back in the 80s a popular wine and Lodovico Antinori established Ornellaia as a counterpoint to this popularity - a Bordeaux-inspired wine with a bit of variation to the favorite Sassicaia. From Ornellaia, Masseto later emerged as a separate wine because it did not fit into Ornellaia's concept, and a clayey lot near Bolgheri, perfect for Merlot, became the foundation of what would later become the most exclusive Super Tuscan.

Sassicaia has undoubtedly been a great driver of the increasing Super Tuscan interest and has thus helped to put Tuscany and thus Masseto on the world map. But Masseto has to that extent shown that it is in a class of its own and entitled to the unofficial title as one of the greatest Super Tuscans and a particularly attractive investment wine.

Masseto: The Best Of Both Worlds

The relationship between how limited a wine production is and how large a current consumption the given wine is exposed to is essential for a wine's investment potential. In the case of great vintage Champagnes such as Dom Pérignon and Cristal, the annual production of bottles is counted in several hundred thousands and even in millions. However, as it ongoing consumption is also extremely high, there is a very interesting investment potential here. In the case of the largest Burgundy wines, for example, it is not uncommon that only a few thousand bottles is produced in a year. Here, however, the price is easily measured in thousands of euros per bottle, which also results in a more limited ongoing consumption, compared to the Champagnes.

In the case of the Super Tuscans, the scenario is a bit between the two above examples - here more than 100,000 bottles of a given Super Tuscan are easily produced, but the current consumption is enormous - partly because the Super Tuscans are extremely popular and partly because a Super Tuscan can be acquired from just approx € 100 - a price range where many of the world's wine drinkers can and will participate.

Masseto points a bit in both directions, in a very exciting way really. Masseto is produced in very limited numbers, compared to the other Super Tuscans. The 6.6 hectares of Masseto vineyard yield only approx 30,000 bottles of Masseto per year, which is disappearing quantities in a market that apparently only increasingly demands the best Italian wines.

The price of a 2016 Masseto at RareWine Invest is currently € 585, and is generally at a level that makes Masseto the most expensive Super Tuscan on the market. This means that it both appeals to the audience that demands the most expensive and most prestigious but is still in a price range where the audience and thus the trading activity is enormous.

In combination with Masseto's great brand, the above makes Masseto the most exclusive Super Tuscan on the market and there is potential in that!

Historical Vintage With Record High Scores

The vintages of 2015 and 2016 have been very remarkable vintages where we have seen both extraordinarily great vintages in Burgundy and Bordeaux. Here, several of the most significant wines have reaped the magical 100 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - including both Romanée-Conti and Petrus in both the 2015 and 2016 vintages. Both vintages were equally remarkable in Tuscany. 2015 Sassicaia was named Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator and 2016 Sassicaia received 100 points for the first time since the 1985 vintage.

At Masseto, the story is no different: The 2015 vintage with 100 Parker points became the greatest vintage from Masseto in 10 years, while the 2016 Masseto has become the first Masseto ever to be awarded two perfect 100-point scores, from Wine Advocate and James Suckling, respectively.

This naturally makes these two vintages go down in history as some of the best and most remarkable vintages in Masseto's history and will at any time in the future be an attractive choice for the wine lover with preferences towards Tuscany.

The Spotlight Is On Masseto And The Super Tuscans

We have on several occasions preached that the Italian top wines are on the rise, which is especially true when it is regarding the Super Tuscans. This is reflected, among other things, in the search history on Wine-Searcher. Here, more than a million searches are made daily and out of more than 400,000 wines, all five Super Tuscan^* are in the top 100 of most searched wines. Well, in fact all five are even in the top-54. Masseto is in place no. 35.

By this one can safely say that the Italian top wines have the attention of the world and Masseto is part of the absolute most attractive company!

* Masseto, Sassicaia, Solaia, Ornellaia and Tignanello

Rarewine Invest’s Opinion

Our enthusiasm for the Italian top wines continues to rise and we basically, under the right conditions, recommend all five Super Tuscans for investment.

Masseto is a particularly exciting case as you as an investor here, both get a wine from a relatively limited production, from a strong brand and with a price that makes it both the most expensive and prestigious Super Tuscan, but at the same time get a wine in a price range where the audience is enormous.

The 2016 vintage will go down in history and become a vintage the discerning wine lovers will return to again and again at the same time as it becomes a reference point for future wines.

This is your opportunity to secure investment in 2016 Masseto, while it still being relatively young and the availability means that the price is still relatively stable - something that under normal circumstances is not the case when time passes and availability disappears.

Invest today and add the most exclusive Super Tuscan from a historic vintage to your portfolio.

NOTE: The price of € 585 is currently among the absolute lowest at the 2016 Masseto in whole cases on Wine-Searcher.