How to Spend Three Wine-Fueled Days in Tuscany

"I was in town to visit Le Macchiole and spent time with founder Cinzia Merli and her family; founded in 1983 with Eugenio Campolmi and now run alongside her sons Elia Campolmi and Massimo Merli with Production Manager Luca Rettondini overseeing winemaking, the estate has grown from an initial four hectares along the Via Bolgherese to 26.6 hectares spread across six organically farmed vineyards. They anchor their wines on Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot rather than the more Tuscan-traditional Sangiovese, and take a distinctive single-variety approach for their flagships: the 100% Cabernet Franc Paleo Rosso shows aromatic complexity with chocolate and espresso, notes of well-aged cigar tobacco, chamomile, brambly berries, singed spearmint, peppercorns, and minera; the 100% Syrah Scrio is majestic, with a subtle sizzle of peppercorns, fresh-picked cherries and a remarkably savory palate anchored by meat, plums, blackberries, blueberries, cured black olives, cocoa powder, and Earl Grey tea; and the 100% Merlot Messorio carries a distinctly balsamic character with sandalwood, cedar, orange oils over coffee, plus kirsch, blackberry liqueur, and porcini powder on a lively frame—overall the 2018s are showing brilliantly and their wines combine elegance, grace, and real longevity. Before I left, Cinzia also gave me a bag of coffee aged in Bolgheri wine barrels, a fitting reminder of a place whose wines keep improving even while remaining consistently high in quality." - Brian Freedman