Azienda Agricola Le Macchiole
Le Macchiole's Messorio is Bolgheri's benchmark 100% Merlot, matured 16 months in new oak and stoneware amphora. Bold, deeply oaked black fruit with firm tannins and a long, savoury finish; Wine Enthusiast scored the 2020 vintage 98 points.
Messorio spends 16 months in new oak barrels and stoneware amphora, and it shows: oak, vanilla and a cocoa edge frame blackberry and plum, with leather and violet underneath. The picture here synthesises Le Macchiole's own technical sheets with the consensus of roughly 7,000 Vivino ratings.
New oak leads, with vanilla, sweet spice and a cocoa edge from 16 months in barrel and stoneware amphora, the most-cited note among Vivino's reviewers. Behind it sits ripe blackberry, plum and black cherry, lifted by violet and a savoury hint of leather and graphite. It reads as a deliberately bold, oak-framed Merlot rather than a soft one.
Violet
Black cherry
Blackberry
Plum
Leather
Oak
Vanilla
ChocolateFull and firmly tannic at 14.5%, with concentrated black fruit wrapped in oak. A long maceration in concrete tanks and low yields of 800 to 900 grams per vine give it density, while the coastal Bolgheri site keeps enough acidity to stop it turning heavy. Drinkers consistently describe it as bold, structured and built to last.
Messorio closes long and savoury, on cedar and dark spice, with the fine, slightly chalky tannins from 16 months in new oak that signal years of development ahead.
Messorio is Le Macchiole's flagship and one of Italy's benchmark Merlots, rated 4.5 from about 7,000 Vivino ratings and 98 points at Wine Enthusiast for the 2020. It is a cellar wine for serious red-meat dinners, not an everyday bottle, and rewards a decade or more in the cellar.
Three vintages are listed in the UK right now, the 2020 to 2022, between about £202 and £232 a bottle across Millesima and Decantalo. Stock is thin and vintage-dependent for a wine made in small quantities at Castagneto Carducci.
Messorio is a special-occasion, cellar-worthy red rather than an everyday pour. At over £200 a bottle it scores low for value against the Toscana IGT median but high for occasion and ageing.
A prestige, small-production flagship rated 4.5 on Vivino and 98 points by Wine Enthusiast for 2020, made for a serious celebration.
Sixteen months in new oak and amphora, firm tannins and 14.5% structure, plus critic notes of strong ageing potential, point to a decade or more of development.
Bold, firmly tannic Merlot with enough coastal acidity to handle char-grilled and braised red meat, but too grand and structured for lighter fare.
Lowest UK price near £202 is about six times the roughly £32 Toscana IGT median; fair against icon Merlots like Masseto, but a premium purchase in absolute terms.
Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our editorial methodology.
A compact view of what the Toscana denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.
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The 2020 and 2021 are both standouts, each scoring 98 points at Wine Enthusiast, while the warm, dry 2022 was a more challenging Tuscan-coast year saved by mid-August rain. All three are 100% Merlot from the Vignone and Ulivino vineyards.
A warm, very dry 2022 on the coast, with mid-August rain rescuing the reds; ripe and generous, scored 95 points by James Suckling. Approachable a little earlier than the 2020 and 2021.
A classic, balanced 2021 matured 16 months in new oak, conical cask and amphora. Wine Enthusiast and Vinous both scored it 98 points; give it until the late 2020s and hold through the early 2040s.
A dry finish to the 2020 season on the Tuscan coast gave ripe, concentrated fruit; Wine Enthusiast scored it 98 points and Vivino rates it the wine's top recent year. Built to drink from the late 2020s into the 2030s.
Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.
First made in 1994, Messorio set out to prove Merlot could be a thoroughbred rather than the soft, predictable style the grape is known for. Today it sits beside Masseto and Redigaffi among Italy's most respected Merlots, with a Wine Spectator 100-point result for the 2004 in its history.
Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.
Toscana is in the IGT tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.
Toscana falls within Tuscany , covering Tuscany.
Fruit comes only from the Vignone (1999) and Ulivino plots at roughly 800 to 900 grams per vine, hand-picked in September. Tiny yields per plant concentrate cost into every bottle.
Le Macchiole ages each vintage 16 months in new barrels plus amphora, then months more in bottle. New oak bought every year is a recurring cost the wine must carry.
Made in small quantities and ranked beside Masseto and Redigaffi among Italy's top Merlots, Messorio commands a collector price; UK listings sit above £200 a bottle.
Wine Enthusiast scored both the 2020 and 2021 vintages 98 points, with Vinous at 97 to 98; sustained acclaim supports release and resale pricing.
Still-wine duty of £2.67 a bottle at 2026 HMRC rates plus 20% VAT add roughly £36 of tax to a £202 bottle before any retailer margin.
Bottling as Toscana IGT avoids DOCG yield ceilings and release-tasting bureaucracy, giving Le Macchiole a free hand. The saving is marginal at this price, but it is a genuine downward pull.
Dishes that complement this wine
With firm tannins, 14.5% body and a savoury, oak-framed core, Messorio wants robust red meat. Vivino drinkers reach most often for beef, lamb and veal, which matches its structure well.
Messorio's firm, new-oak tannins need protein and fat to soften. The seared crust and rendered fat of a bistecca coat the palate so the tannin reads as backbone, while the wine's 14.5% body matches the richness of the meat.
Try with: Fiorentina steak · Brasato al Barolo · Agnello Ragu Lucano · More pairings →
Long, savoury braises echo Messorio's own concentration. Its tannin and coastal acidity cut through the gelatinous richness of brasato and ragu, while ripe black fruit mirrors the dark, reduced sauce.
Try with: Brasato al Barolo · Agnello Ragu Lucano · Ossobuco alla Milanese · More pairings →
A full-bodied, 14.5% Merlot needs a dish with equal weight. Gamey, iron-rich meat and deeply reduced ragu stand up to its density rather than being flattened by it.
Try with: Agnello Ragu Lucano · Venison Stew · Brasato al Barolo · More pairings →
The leather, cocoa and sweet-spice notes drinkers find in Messorio bridge to the nutty, crystalline savour of a well-aged sheep's cheese. The wine's tannin also resets the palate between rich bites.
Try with: Pecorino sardo e pan carasau · aged Parmigiano Reggiano · mature pecorino · More pairings →
For all its power, Messorio keeps fresh acidity from its coastal Bolgheri site. That line of acidity sits well with tomato-led braises and ragu, keeping the pairing lively rather than jammy.
Try with: Agnello Ragu Lucano · Brasato al Barolo · Fiorentina steak · More pairings →
Big tannin, new oak and 14.5% alcohol amplify chilli heat and overwhelm subtle dishes. Skip fiery Sichuan or vindaloo and leave delicate white fish and sushi to a lighter, fresher Italian white.
Skip with: Crispy chilli beef · Lamb bhuna · Szechuan beef · sushi · Pairing guide →
Sixteen months in new oak and amphora, ripe 14.5% fruit and firm tannins give Messorio a long arc. The 2020 should drink well from around 2026 into the late 2030s, rewarding patient cellaring over early drinking.
Peak around 2030. Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.
A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.
Sixteen months in new oak and amphora, firm tannins and 14.5% structure, plus critic notes of strong ageing potential, point to a decade or more of development.
£202.40 is the lowest tracked offer for the current vintage and we have no signal of further discounting.
Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 7 Jun 2026, 14:46 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.
Confidence · HighDrawn from what drinkers consistently report on Vivino and Wine-Searcher, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic.
Confidence · MediumFrom the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.
Confidence · HighOur reading of the price, drawn from the disciplinare, public UK duty rates, and typical landed-cost benchmarks. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.
Confidence · MediumStyle guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.
Confidence · MediumMessorio is 100% Merlot, bottled as a Toscana IGT. Le Macchiole grows the fruit on its Vignone and Ulivino plots near Castagneto Carducci on the Bolgheri coast, and has made the wine since 1994.
Bold and tannic, with blackberry and plum fruit framed by sweet oak, vanilla and chocolate from 16 months in new barrels and amphora. Drinkers on Vivino also flag leather, violet and a savoury, earthy edge. It rates 4.5 from roughly 7,000 ratings.
It is built to cellar. The 2020 drinks well from about 2026 and should hold to 2040, with the 2021 on a similar curve. Firm tannins and 14.5% structure reward a decade or more in bottle.
It is a tiny-production, single-estate Merlot ranked alongside Masseto and Redigaffi among Italy's finest. Low yields, 16 months in new oak and amphora, and scores like Wine Enthusiast's 98 points for 2020 push UK prices above £200 a bottle.
Reach for char-grilled and braised red meat. Fiorentina steak, Brasato al Barolo and lamb ragu meet its tannins, while aged pecorino suits its savoury, oak-framed depth.
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