2016 Castello ColleMassari Montecucco Rosso Riserva DOC 750 ml

ColleMassari’s Montecucco Riserva is one of the most beloved Italian wines in Wine Access history, and their 94-point 2016 is the best edition yet—a powerful wine that Vinous called “a beautifully balanced Sangiovese,” from a near-perfect vintage.

Vinous called it one of “Central Italy’s Best-Kept Secrets,” and although it may not be on the radar of many drinkers, our members have been clamoring for another vintage ever since we sold out of the ‘13. Thanks to that demand, we’re able to offer the new edition for just $22 per bottle—a wildly low price for a wine of ColleMassari’s quality and pedigree.

In 2014 the estate won the highest honor in Italian wine—Gambero Rosso’s “Winery of the Year” award—and have only gone from strength to strength since. They’re the standard bearer for Montecucco, a promise-laden corner of Tuscany just south of Brunello di Montalcino. ColleMassari “sits in the perfect position to create Sangiovese of the highest order and character,” according to Vinous, and their 2016 is an absolute knockout.

The owners of Castello ColleMassari, Maria Iris Bertarelli and Claudio Tipa, have an eye for quality. They’re best known for owning $400 Brunello icon Poggio di Soto, but the potential of ColleMassari blew them away when they first visited the site in the late ‘90s. With a broad diversity of soils to ensure complexity—the vineyard boasts sandstone, sea gravel, limestone, red clay, and loam—and perfect exposure that’s angled toward the breezes coming off the Mediterranian Sea, it’s a fantastic place to grow grapes.

Always in pursuit of higher quality, they farm their vineyards organically to improve soil health, and are rewarded with consistently perfect grapes. The winery resembles the state-of-the-art facilities in much tonier parts of Tuscany, with a gravity-fed system to avoid handling wine with pumps, and a dizzying array of barrels which allow for precise control over how much oak flavor ends up in the wine.

There’s an immeasurable buzz around 2016 in Tuscany. It’s a vintage Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate rated 98 points, and Vinous summed up as “Radiance Personified” in neighboring Brunello. 

ColleMassari’s Riserva lives up to the hype, with a stunning nose that’s packed full of dried cherries, black raspberries, cedar, tobacco, and orange peel aromas. The palate is structured and firm, with a strong backbone that will allow this wine to age beautifully for decades, and layers of dark red fruit flavors are mixed with classic Tuscan herbs, earth, and a touch of vanilla. There’s fantastic complexity and nuance, with a level of precision and polish that we rarely see at this price.

The Riserva is mostly Sangiovese, with a touch of Ciliegiolo—a native Tuscan grape that brings extra brightness—and Cabernet Sauvignon. Vinous called it “classic in every way and geared up for a long stay in the cellar,” yet if our last offer is anything to go by, it won’t have a long stay in our warehouse.