Chianti Classico deep dive (13) Fattoria Le Masse
Website: https://www.fattorialemasse.com/en/
This was an interesting stop in Chianti Classico. Fattoria Le Masse is young by Chianti Classico standards and is run by 3rd generation Robin Mugnaini (pictured above), with the first wine bottled in 2009. When Robin was 20, in 2006, his father passed. So Robin began making some wine, That year he made 300 bottles. Since then, production has growth to 25 000 bottles a year. They still sell some grapes. Overall, they have 20 hectares of vines and 6000 olive trees.
Robin says that he tried escaping, and did some acting in films. But each year he came back for the harvest.
They started farming organically in 2015, and were certified in 2020. ‘I felt the earth and the land, and it was interesting to go in this direction,’ says Robin. They work biodynamically, but aren’t certified because Demeter want everything on the farm to be biodynamic, and they have some olive trees that are farmed organically but not biodynamically. ‘Through biodynamics I met really beautiful producers,’ he says. ‘It gave me a chance to see what the identity of the land is.’
‘Everything began with my mother,’ says Robin. She’s a professional artist from Berlin, a painter. His sister is also an artist. ‘My mother was the one that kept this place with a beautiful energy and taste,’ he says. He runs it with his wife Cecilia who is a Yoga teacher.
Joining us for the tasting and the dinner was Robin’s friend, Lorenzo Vignoli, who is a sculptor who has also been making some terracotta vessels for Robin. He began making wine vessels because he has some friends in the biodynamic wine world. He went on a long search to find the right sort of clay that would take the elevated firing temperatures needed to make wine vessels. He also paints the outside of the vessels.
Robin hires friends for the harvest, which he says is a critical moment. ‘If we don’t celebrate this kind of work,’ he says, ‘what are we doing?’
THE WINES
Le Masse Forasacco 2022 IGT Toscana
75% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Gris, 13.5% alcohol. Hot summer so harvested August 8. Vines from 1986, whole bunch pressed. All stainless steel. This has nice bright citrus fruit with some pear notes, showing good concentration with some stony minerality and nice fruit density. Pure but with some Tuscan richness. 91/100
Le Masse Camporella 2022 IGT Toscana
1974 plantings. This is an orange wine with Trebbiano and a touch of Malvasia, 2 weeks on skins in Terracotta, with 20% whole bunch. Floral aromatics with nice citrus and pear, as well as some wax. Structured palate with citrus and orange peel, showing grippy tannins. No added sulfites here. 92/100
Le Masse Spruz Rosato 2022 IGT Toscana
12% alcohol. This was their first attempt at rosé, made from a Sangiovese selection that had big grapes and which exploded after rainfall, hence an improvised early harvest for this wine. Picked August 22 and no skin contact. Intense and zesty with keen acidity and juicy cranberry fruit with some herbs. Nice detail here. 93/100
Le Masse Santa Goccia 2021 IGT Toscana
13.5% alcohol. 70% Sangiovese, 20% Canalaio and 10% Trebbiano, with a twist of other varieties. Two vineyard planted in 1974 and 1986 with clay/sand soils. The idea here was to go back to the original story of this land and put everything together for a five-day ferment, and then it’s pressed and fermentation finishes in 20% concrete and 80% stainless steel. Lively, vivid and juicy with nice tannins and good presence. Vibrant cherry and berry fruits with firm tannins and good acidity. Crunchy and alert and vital. So lively. 93/100
Le Masse Santa Goccia 2022 IGT Toscana
12.5% alcohol. Just concrete this year. Appealing hints of reduction on the nose with direct raspberry and cherry fruit. Firm tannins. Vivid and bright with intense red cherry fruit and good focus. 93/100
Le Masse Chianti Classico 2018
This is 100% Sangiovese raised in a 2000 litre vat, with 6 weeks on skins. 20% whole bunch. Vibrant aromatics with black cherries, blackberries and hints of tar and gravel. Quite savoury. The palate is bloody and tannic with good acidity. Serious and structural. 94/100
Le Masse Chianti Classico 2019
14% alcohol. Matured in large wood (second use). Lovely aromatics with vibrant cranberry and raspberry fruit with a sense of freshness. This is vibrant and expressive with firm, slightly unresolved crunchy tannins and good acidity. 94/100
Le Masse Chianti Classico 2020
Nervous, tense and mineral, this has beguiling reduction on the nose. The palate has a slight wildness. It’s slightly gritty and sandy, with direct cherry and plum fruit. Nice tension and directness here, finishing quite firm. 93/100
La Masse Chianti Classico 2021
14% alcohol. ‘It’s the wine that gives me more pleasure,’ says Robin. ‘Everything went pretty perfect.’ This is lively and intense with nice purity. Quite primary with sweet raspberry and cherry fruit with a good acid line. Pure and expressive with good tannin and acid, but also approachability. 94/100
La Masse Chianti Classico 2022
First year of 70% concrete. Concentrated and bold with beautiful pure fruits and firm tannins. Black cherry and plum fruit with nice intensity. Bright, lively and wild. 94/100
