This is so solid and powerful with incredible vertical dense that goes down and down on the palate. Compacted and thick with caressing and polished tannins that are powerful yet refined. Super concentration yet agile and energetic. This is a wine that needs time to come together and resolve all of its amazing components. Reminds me of the legendary 2001. Try after 2023.

Masseto has pulled off back-to-back home runs. This is the first time that an Italian wine has earned 100 points in successive vintages. The 2016 Masseto is a thunderstorm of emotions, but it manages to keep them under perfect control. Like the 2015 Masseto before it, this vintage is a seamless wine of the highest pedigree. It represents an encore performance, continuing the string of successes that is bringing Italy to the forefront of the wine world. The first thing you'll notice is the thickness and concentration of the fruit that makes an immediate impact on all the senses, in terms of appearance, aroma and mouthfeel. There is no overstating the sheer power and richness of this iconic vintage of Italy's groundbreaking Merlot. Despite that considerable mass, this Masseto remains delicate and graceful. You gain better perspective as the wine opens in the glass and reveals deeper layers that were not immediately apparent on first nose: dark fruit, spice, sweet tobacco and black cherry. There is great tightness and laser focus to the fruit. I tasted the 2016 and 2015 vintages together for comparison when I scored this wine, and then I tasted this 2016 edition alone about a month later to confirm my impressions. These vintages are identical twins, two perfect wines.

Blackcurrant and balsamic herb aromas with hints of meat, iron and leather introduce an effortlessly fresh and spicy palate of moreish cherry and plum fruits. The tannins are typically fine, soft and silky, and the acidity gets your mouth watering. 2016 was successful throughout Tuscany, the grapes benefitting from a long and balanced ripening season. ‘I love this kind of wine,’ says Marco Balsimelli, ‘because here you can feel the real character of Masseto.’ It's rounder in body compared to the 2021, and although the complexity is emerging, it's still quite reticent and clearly has lots more to give – a familiar story with top Tuscan reds from this vintage at this moment in time. It demands more time in bottle, but when it's eventually at its peak this could well be a 100-point masterpiece.