- Masseto 2021 has been released for €465 per bottle ex-négociant.
- The wine was scored 100 points by Antonio Galloni, and 95 points by Monica Larner.
Masseto 2021 has been released via La Place de Bordeaux at €465 per bottle ex- négociant, flat on last year’s release. Last year, the 2020 vintage, rated 98 points by Antonio Galloni and 96+ points by Monica Larner was released internationally around £6,800 per 12×75. With no recommended retail price, the price spread for Masseto is often broad.
The wine has yet to be offered in the UK, though we do expect merchants to accept lower margins than last year.
Axel Heinz, the famed winemaker at Masseto and Ornellaia, moved on from his position in Bolgheri to become CEO of Château Lascombes in Bordeaux. Fans of Heinz may take particular interest in the 2021 Masseto as one of his last vintages.
Critical response
Antonio Galloni (Vinous) awarded the 2021 Masseto a perfect 100-point score, describing it as ‘the most exquisite, refined young Masseto’ he had ever tasted. According to him, this vintage is characterised by ‘less of the bombastic intensity and extraction that were once the norm’, resulting in a wine ‘built on linear energy more than volume’.
Monica Larner (Wine Advocate) was less effusive in her praise. According to her, while a ‘very rich and elaborate expression’, the wine ‘comes off as quite big-boned or monotone’. She gave a score of 95 points – interestingly, lower than her score for Masseto’s second wine, Massetino 2021 (96 points).
Pricing analysis
Though Antonio Galloni’s 100-point score may garner today’s release some interest, Market Prices of Masseto are more strongly correlated with scores from The Wine Advocate. Any release price below £6,200 would position the 2021 below the Fair Value regression line (as highlighted on the chart below).
Fans of the critic Monica Larner may instead consider the 2017, 2018 and 2019 vintages, all receiving higher scores from the critic and positioned below the Fair Value line. The 2019 vintage, receiving 98 points from Larner and Galloni and 99 points from Jane Anson, may be of particular interest. The wine has a Market Price of £6,600 and last traded at £6,536 per 12×75.
Liv-ex analysis is drawn from the world’s most comprehensive database of fine wine prices. The data reflects the real-time activity of Liv-ex’s 620+ merchant members from across the globe. Together they represent the largest pool of liquidity in the world – currently £100m of bids and offers across 16,000 wines.
