Le Macchiole Scrio IGT 2020
(Tuscany, Italy) - [JD 97] [WA 97] [TWI 96] [VM 96] [WE 96] [WS 94] [JS 94]

About the Winery:
Today, Bolgheri is among Italy’s most famed wine producing regions, but this seemed far from a possibility in 1983, the year Le Macchiole was founded and a time when the area was known simply for a close proximity to the sea and having abundant fruit and grain agriculture. Yet, two natives of Bolgheri, Eugenio Campolmi and Cinzia Merli, were devoted to the idea of vine growing in their home region even when it was not considered a viable way to start a living.

Le Macchiole can best be defined as the “Boutique Bolgheri.” The winery is known for its spectacular single-varietal wines, and their signature grape varieties are Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc.

About this Wine:
Scrio was first produced in 1994. Le Macchiole founder Eugenio Campolmi created it because he wanted to produce a wine that would best express his vision of Syrah, his favorite grape variety. Scrio has an original personality and stands apart from Syrah grown in France or anywhere else – it is an extraordinarily compelling meld of deep and velvety Mediterranean fruit with cool climate aromatics and detail. Given the extremely limited production, Scrio is decidedly a hidden gem.

“Scrio” is a Tuscan word that translates to pure, genuine, and honest. It is usually used to refer to people who are pure of heart.

TECHNICAL SHEET

First Vintage: 1994

Grape varieties: 100% Syrah

Vineyards: Vignone 1999, Casavecchia 2016

Training System: simple guyot and head-trained

Yield: 900 gr per plant

Harvest period: 1st week of September

Winemaking: fermentation and maceration for 20 days in concrete tanks

Aging: 14 months in tonne

Ratings & Reviews

97 Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
"The 2020 Scrio (which is always Syrah) displays a deep but transparent magenta hue. Floral and inviting, the nose offers beautiful aromas of fresh lavender, candied black raspberry, mocha, and sweet herbs. Full-bodied but weightless, with ripe tannins, its more savory Mediterranean profile shines on the palate with notes of black olive. It has a buoyant and mouthwatering finish that retains freshness of acidity while also offering notes of salty earth. This vintage seems to be much more lifted than I remember this cuvée being in years past and is more about its mineral texture, with undercurrents of spice lasting long on the finish. One stunner of a wine, it’s haunting, as it lasts on the palate for ages. Drink 2025-2040." - Audrey Frick (Jan 2024)

97 Points - Wine Advocate:
"A beautiful Syrah from Tuscany, the 2020 Scrio shows impeccable elegance with a very long and linear style that transcends the nose and the palate. I love the precision of this wine. The celebrated Rhône grape has found a very happy home along this part of the Tuscan coast. The team at Le Macchiole is especially talented at bringing out varietal nuances of dark fruit, baking chocolate, spice, charred meat, white pepper and pencil shaving" - Monica Larner (May 2023)

96 Points - The Wine Independent:
"The 2020 Le Macchiole Scrio is vibrant and fruity, full of blackberry, raspberry, cream and sweet spice aromas - it is very open and at ease with itself. On the palate it is round with juicy ripe, blackberries, cream and spice. It is too young yet to have developed more interesting or nuanced flavors like the 2019 but is showing lots of concentration and potential. At the moment it is much simpler, but it is joyful and beautifully made." – Susan Hulme (Jan 2026)

96 Points - Vinous Media:
"The 2020 Scrio (Syrah) is a lovely wine. At this stage, the Scrio is pretty closed, but that is likely a very good thing for its long-term aging prospects. Time in the glass brings out hints of white pepper, smoke, dried flowers, mint and chalk that lend brightness to a core of sweet red and blood orange fruit. This is the first vintage in which vineyard sourcing shifts meaningfully to a site in the hills of Bolgheri. The 2020 was aged in 12hL cask, ceramic and about 10% in French oak. (Drink between 2026-2040)" - Antonio Galloni (Aug 2023)

96 Points - Wine Enthusiast:
"The nose is sleek and dark, like a well-tailored suit, as the chewy saltiness of black olives waltzes with the tartness of blackberries and blueberries, while fireworks of black pepper burst in the night sky above. The olives and dark fruit keep dancing on the palate, until the song ends with a spicy, bitter chocolate crescendo. Debonair tannins watch you from across the ballroom, while acid simmers on the balcony, inconspicuous but unforgettable." - Danielle Callegari (Mr 2024)

94 Points - Wine Spectator:
"A sleek, elegant red signaled by violet, blueberry, boysenberry, earth and spice aromas and flavors. Dense yet fluid, with fine-grained tannins and a well-defined beam of fruit persisting on the finish. Shows superb finesse and balance. Syrah. Best from 2025 through 2040. 320 cases made, 35 cases imported." – Bruce Sanderson (Dec 2023)

94 Points - James Suckling:
"Plenty of flowers and fresh fruit such as blackberries and raspberries. Hints of cloves and nutmeg. Medium to full body, with ultra-fine tannins and a chewy and crunchy finish. A little tight at the end, suggesting it needs three to four years of bottle age. Drink after 2026." (Jun 2023)