The well-deserved fame of the Le Macchiole winery is a subject on which all Italian and international wine critics agree. On the other hand, there are not many wineries that can boast the production of three red wines that, systematically, are at the top of the production of the Bolgheri area. The history of this winery begins almost 40 years ago, in 1983, when Eugenio Campolmi, assisted by his wife Cinzia Merli, bought the first 4 hectares of vineyard on Via Bolgherese, an area still quite unknown for the production of wine.
The premature death of Eugenio (in 2002) change things, but Cinzia shows great temperament, firmly taking in hand the company, assisted by his brother Massimo (responsible for the vineyards), Luca d’Attoma (the oenologist) and a young and efficient team. Under the leadership of this team the company expands, reaching the current 27 hectares of extension, and collects the first important awards, such as the 100 points awarded at the Messorio 2004 by Wine Spectator in 2007, or the title, awarded in 2008 by the American magazine Wine & Spirits, of “Winery of the Year”. In the meantime, the team has expanded, with the entry into the company of Cinzia and Eugenio sons, Elia (who works alongside Massimo Merli in the vineyard), and Mattia (employed in the Marketing and Sales division), and with Luca Rettondini who, since 2014, has taken over the winery’s enological guidance, replacing D’Attoma.
In the vineyard a biological approach is adopted, with studies on the reduction of copper (already very little used) and on the total elimination of sulphur, and the use of the biodynamic preparations 500 (the cornoletame), for the vitality of the soil, and 501 (the cornosilice) fo the leaves and the fruit one. During the processing, a triple sorting of the grapes is carried out (the first in the plant, the second on the whole bunch and the third on the individual berries) which allows to have only the best grains, able to withstand long macerations (for maximum extraction and complexity possible), and spontaneous alcoholic and malolactic fermentations.
From the vineyards Puntone, Vignone, Casa Nuova and I Sommi, starting in 2004, it is obtained the Bolgheri Rosso DOC, a wine that, despite being the entry level, has a great importance for the winery since it represents the way in which Le Macchiole interprets the traditional Bolgheri taste. It is a blend of Merlot (50%), Cabernet Franc (20%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%) and Syrah (10%), fermented and macerated in steel, and aged in second and third passage barriques (80%) and cement (20%) for about a year.
The 2018 vintage, quite canonical although characterized by an excess of moisture in the soil, has an intense ruby color, with purple veins, and a range of aromas that start from red fruit, with cherry Ravenna, plum and blackberry wild, followed by a floral of rose petal, pot pourri of violet and herbaceous hints, and a balsamic-spicy component of mint and licorice. The taste of warm softness and excellent acid-balsamic freshness, strikes for the chiseled tannin, really soft and elegant, with a fruity and spicy return that accompanies the sip until a good length closure.
Rating: 89/100
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