La Massa, Toscana 2020

La Massa is at the bottom of a long, steep drive where a beautiful villa and farm buildings stand in a clump of pine and cypress trees. Here you are, right in the heart of Chianti Classico, in an area known as the Conca d’Or or Golden Basin where four south-facing spurs are occupied by four of Chianti’s top producers. Owner Giampaolo Motta took over the estate in 1992 planting Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon on richly diverse soil types.

Here there are 22ha of vineyards and 30ha of forests at altitudes from 315m to 460m. Soils comprise clay schist unique to La Massa, and a white sandy schist, both marine in origin, overlaying deep sand and clay. Heterogeneous soil types mean site selection has been hugely important, and they carefully analysed all their soil compositions to select the perfect varietal clone to plant on each site. Driving up, down and across the property you pass plots of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet densely planted on a wide range of orientations and soil types. This is the crucial factor in lending great complexity to Giampaolo Motta’s wines while late harvesting gives them beautiful harmony and super-ripe tannins. Wireless weather stations all over the vineyards monitor rainfall, humidity and sunshine so they can respond rapidly to changing conditions. They use horse manure alongside cover crops to fix nitrogen as they are both sustainable. Pruning and green harvests are by hand to help fully express their terroir and minimise work in the cellar. All their vines face south and so all ripen early. They ferment and age separately, only blending at the end to create each masterpiece. In 2001 La Massa moved away from the Chianti Classico classification and have very successfully freestyled as Toscana IGT ever since. The winery blends seamlessly into the side of the hill but once inside, it is a homage to high-tech, ultra-modern wine making with gravity-fed vats and temperature-controlled barrel aging rooms all accentuated by a colour scheme which is a nod to Italian Formula 1 (black and white chequered flag floor tiles and Ferrari-red piping). Finished in 2012 it has resulted in even finer wines with increased definition and precision - these are Super Tuscans in every possible way."