By Serena Sutcliffe, MW, Honorary Chairman, Sotheby’s Wine.

Appreciation

"This place is very natural, rough, unspoilt. It is quite a tough site. One would not expect it to be capable of producing this kind of wine. It’s not even the right part of the world for Merlot. It is too extreme. We are always on the edge of making a great wine, and it can go either way. Vines need to suffer, but only up to a point. There is always the risk of failure. But this vineyard always delivers. There is a real power here and it is really nature that makes all the important decisions." - Axel Heinz, Estate Director

Million-year-old blue Pliocene clay lies just beneath the vineyard’s surface, Masseto was named after the rock-hard clusters of blue clay called ‘massi’.

Masseto

Built as an homage to Masseto’s past, present and future, it offers perfect winemaking and cellaring conditions with minimal environmental impact.

The Caveau

Masseto | The Caveau Release comprises vintages spanning three decades, including 35 cases containing the 2006, 2010 and 2011 vintages, as well as magnums, double magnums, imperials, and an outstanding Nebuchadnezzar.

The Release

Sale Highlights

Masseto | The Caveau Release

Provenance is critical for Sotheby’s Wine and there can be no better source than the cellar of a great winery. We are therefore delighted to continue our amazing Spring 2023 Continental season with this incomparable Single Estate Sale: Masseto I The Caveau Release. This incredible sale&nbsp;coming from the very cellar of the winery is remarkably unique as it is the first ever auction to release a very limited number of bottles in varying formats, carefully removed from the Masseto Caveau – the most secret space in the winery’s cellar carved deep beneath the vineyard of the same name. The Tuscan wines have a long-established pedigree among wine connoisseurs worldwide and amongst them Masseto, born out of a small patch of the million-year-old Pliocene clay soil on the Tuscan Coast has gained a unique place in the pantheon of collectible wines, to become one of the most valuable, coveted wine around the world. Masseto | The Caveau Release comprises vintages spanning three decades, including 35 cases containing the 2006, 2010 and 2011 vintages, as well as magnums, double magnums, imperials, and an outstanding Nebuchadnezzar. Rarely open to the public, the Masseto estate will also extend an invitation to host some of the successful bidders at the winery. The various experiences (lots 16-46) include exclusive visits and private tastings. A special highlight is an astonishing opportunity to lunch at Masseto, offered as part of a combined lot with an extremely rare Nebuchadnezzar of the 2010 vintage (lot 46). To celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime auction and to highlight its extraordinary provenance, each bottle from this sale has been conditioned with&nbsp;a special Masseto label printed “Caveau April 2023”. All bottles have their original corks, and each capsule bears the Prooftag © anti-counterfeiting device with “Caveau” printed around their collar unless otherwise stated. Furthermore, to reinforce the powerful identity of this sale, each lot is packed in a bespoke&nbsp;numbered oak presentation coffret handcrafted by an artisan in Bolgheri, and contain a certificate of origin signed by Axel Heinz, Estate Director. A singular confirmation of watertight provenance. Sotheby’s has had the privilege in the past to work with some of the most well-respected Châteaux and established Domaines in the world, and&nbsp;it is an honour for us to be entrusted by Masseto to present this magnificent collection. We wish all wine lovers the best of luck in experiencing the glories of these exceptional bottles and other enticing formats. The sale Masseto | The Caveau Release&nbsp;will open for online auction on Wednesday April 12 and will close online on Thursday April 27 from 2:00PM CET. 
 
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Director | Senior Specialist | London & Paris

Frédéric Guyot du Repaire

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On Italy’s Tuscan Coast, overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea near the small village of Bolgheri, sits a magical hillside vineyard. The wine made here was never meant to exist. The potential of the unused slope was finally seen in the 1980’s when, against all odds, advice and local tradition, the first vines were planted. Over the next three decades the vineyard has revealed many secrets, but still more remain to be uncovered.