The 2002 is another eye-opening wine. The year is mostly remembered for its cool, wet summer and a number of dilute, uninteresting wines. Not here. The 2002 Masseto will go down as one of the handful of truly great wines made that year. I imagine in ten or twenty years it will be fascinating to taste alongside Miani’s Merlot, Soldera’s Brunello Riserva and Conterno’s Monfortino. There is no question the wine is in that league. Today the 2002 remains a baby, with tons of depth in its dark fruit. Hints of rose petal and spice develop in the glass, adding further complexity. There is plenty of structure underneath, suggesting the 2002 will be a very long-lived wine. Today, it is a knock-out. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2022.

For WA by Robert Parker – Antonio Galloni, November, 2011