1988 Masseto
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
The 1988 Masseto is pure and total finesse. What a wine to end the evening with. Sweet tobacco, cedar, dried flowers and mint meld together in a pretty, translucent Masseto that has aged impeccably. One of the more delicate wines in this vertical, the 1988 is now also fully mature. I wouldn’t cellar bottles too much further. It’s hard not to fall for the 1988 in this tasting, as it is such a special wine, and every bit as memorable as it was the first time I tasted it. Moderating temperatures at the end of the season helped balance the much warmer conditions of the first part of the summer and gave a wine that has certainly stood the test of time.
Critic scores
Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The estate's 1988 Massseto takes things to another level. It is the first of the early wines that is stratospheric. In some ways, I wish we had decanted this a little longer. The 1988 is a firm, structured Masseto endowed with considerable power, length and the stuffing to drink well for at least another handful of years. The 1988 is in my view the first truly epic Masseto.
About the producer
Established in the 1980s by Lodovico Antinori on the advice of André Tchelistcheff, Masseto was one of Tuscany’s first pure Merlot wines. Sibling to Ornellaia, the Super Tuscan is often considered the Pétrus of Italy – offering powerful, perfumed wines that are highly sought-after by collectors.