Masseto, Toscana, 2013

Italy's answer to Petrus, grown on a rare seam of Pliocene blue clay that surfaces on this single hillside in Bolgheri. Masseto is 100% Merlot from a roughly seven-hectare vineyard first planted in 1984, identified by legendary consultant Andre Tchelistcheff as the perfect spot for the grape. It got its own name and bottling because the wine simply didn't fit the Ornellaia mold, taking its title from the massi, the rock-hard clods of blue clay that crack open across the vineyard surface. The 2013 comes from a slow, classic Tuscan growing season that favored freshness and structure. This is a wine to cellar for the long haul, or to decant for hours if you can't wait.