RP 98
Reviewed by:
Monica Larner
Release Price:
$160
Drink Date:
2025 – 2050
The Le Macchiole 2019 Paleo reveals an extremely precise and etched personality that is perfectly suited to this classic vintage. If you love Cabernet Franc, this is your wine. The bouquet is linear and tight with wet gravel, lead pencil and graphite that make an elegant frame around blackberry and black plum. You taste every last miniature detail in this complex and powerful expression. Fruit comes from a 5.5-hectare plot that rises from 37 to 70 meters above sea level. The soils are a mix of clay, sand, silt, stone and limestone that is characteristic of this stretch of Tuscan coastline. The wine is fermented in cement and aged in barrique for 20 months. On second nose, Paleo begins to offer cardamom pod, exotic spice and fragrant rose water. With 25,400 bottles made, you need to give this glorious wine time to age.

I enjoyed an epic tasting with Le Macchiole proprietor Cinzia Merli, Winemaker Luca Rettondini and Vineyard Manager Elia Campolmi (Cinzia’s son). We tasted three vintages each of the three headline wines Paleo (Cabernet Franc), Scrio (Syrah) and Messorio (Merlot). I gave final scores to the 2019s that are on the market now. I gave a range of scores to the 2020s that we tasted from barrel, but I decided not to give scores (only initial impressions) to the 2021s because these still have a long way to go. The 2020s will hit the market in March 2024. The 2021s are gorgeous, and I look forward to tasting these samples at a later date. Le Macchiole is organic, although they are not currently certified. This will change in 2023 when the winery will obtain certification. The team is especially involved with maintaining the surrounding forests for the sake of biodiversity and for a more functional purpose in that these “green lungs” are beneficial to vine health.