Argentina · Other producers

Masi Agricola

Family-owned Masi Agricola makes Amarone in Valpolicella Classica, drying grapes on bamboo arele, and carries Venetian grapes and appassimento into Tenuta La Arboleda in Mendoza.

The producer

Masi Agricola begins with the Boscaini family's first vintage in the Vajo dei Masi vineyard in 1772, in Valpolicella Classica between Lake Garda and Verona. Amarone sits at the centre of the range, alongside Recioto, ripasso wines and named cru bottlings. In Valpolicella, Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara are dried through winter on bamboo racks called arele before the wines are made, separating the dry Amarone style from the sweet Recioto style.

That Venetian approach also has an Argentine address. At Tenuta La Arboleda in Mendoza province, Masi reports 140 hectares of vineyards and an eco-sustainable winery. In Tupungato, it planted Corvina and Pinot Grigio beside Malbec and Torrontès, then adapted appassimento to local climatic conditions. The range stretches from broadly distributed wines to Mazzano and Campolongo di Torbe, cru Amarone wines from named vineyards. Decanter reported 12 million bottles of annual production, 1,300 hectares in production and 40 long-term contract growers in 2022.

Known for

Appassimento-led wines connecting Valpolicella's Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara with named cru vineyards, ripasso and Recioto, while Masi's Mendoza estate pairs Corvina and Pinot Grigio with Malbec and Torrontès.

Notable facts

The story

The Tenuta dei Masi Amarone branch

In the mid-1960s, Sandro Boscaini put a new proposal to the family business: he and his brother Sergio would manage a branch devoted to Amarone and estate wines. Sergio brought oenological training to the project, while Sandro brought the proposal that gave it a separate direction. The brothers named the branch Tenuta dei Masi, tying it to the family estate and setting its work around two subjects, Amarone and wines from the estate. It was a specific change inside the Boscaini business, with one brother leading the idea and the other bringing winemaking expertise to the new branch. The name Tenuta dei Masi marked the beginning of that separate Amarone and estate-wine operation.

The Tenuta dei Masi Amarone branch

In the mid-1960s, Sandro Boscaini put a new proposal to the family business: he and his brother Sergio would manage a branch devoted to Amarone and estate wines. Sergio brought oenological training to the project, while Sandro brought the proposal that gave it a separate direction. The brothers named the branch Tenuta dei Masi, tying it to the family estate and setting its work around two subjects, Amarone and wines from the estate. It was a specific change inside the Boscaini business, with one brother leading the idea and the other bringing winemaking expertise to the new branch. The name Tenuta dei Masi marked the beginning of that separate Amarone and estate-wine operation.

From the atlas

Masi Agricola

At A Glance

Masi Agricola begins in Valpolicella Classica, where the Boscaini family's first vintage dates to 1772. Its central wines are Amarone and Recioto, made from Venetian grapes dried during winter through appassimento. The same approach reaches Argentina at Tenuta La Arboleda in Mendoza, where Corvina and Pinot Grigio grow alongside Malbec and Torrontès.

The Producer

Masi is a family-owned producer whose history starts with Giobatta Boscaini and his brothers tending the Bonaldi vineyards in Vaio dei Masi, then carrying the grapes to the family winery in Gargagnago. That first vintage in 1772 still supplies the name and the geographical centre of the business. Masi makes wines connected to Venetian culture, with Amarone at the heart of the range.

The company also operates at substantial scale. Decanter reported annual production of 12 million bottles, 1,300 hectares in production and 40 long-term contract growers in 2022. That scale sits beside named single-vineyard wines such as Mazzano and Campolongo di Torbe, so the range moves from broadly distributed bottles to cru Amarone from specific vineyards.

Place

Masi's historic headquarters lies in Valpolicella Classica, in the hills between Lake Garda and Verona. This is the home of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara, the traditional grapes used for Amarone and Recioto della Valpolicella Classico DOCG. The label therefore carries both a place and a method: the grapes come from the Valpolicella area, then spend winter drying before they become wine.

Tenuta La Arboleda places the same Venetian approach in Mendoza province. At Tupungato, Masi planted Corvina and Pinot Grigio for two original blends with Malbec and Torrontès. The Argentine wines are consequently built from a conversation between Venetian varieties, Argentine grapes and local climatic conditions.

Soil And Site

Masi's Valpolicella holdings emphasise foothill and hillside vineyards, with particular attention to named single-vineyard cru sites. Mazzano and Campolongo di Torbe are both Amarone wines from their namesake vineyards, so the vineyard name becomes part of the bottle's place on the range.

At La Arboleda, Masi reports 140 hectares of vineyards and a totally eco-sustainable winery. The estate is in Mendoza province, while the Venetian varieties were planted at Tupungato. The site story here is therefore about location and adaptation, not a claim about a particular soil type.

Story

The Boscaini story begins with vineyard work in 1772 and reaches a formal company name two centuries later. In 1972, Società Masi sas adopted the Masi name. In 1980, a corporate reorganisation made Masi Agricola S.p.A. the operating entity and Sandro Boscaini became president.

The range then carried the Valpolicella method beyond its original setting. In Argentina, Masi established Tenuta La Arboleda, planted Corvina and Pinot Grigio beside Malbec and Torrontès, and adapted appassimento to local climatic conditions. The company kept the method recognisable while changing the grapes, landscape and bottle context.

Vineyards And Cellar

At the historic headquarters, freshly picked bunches are laid on bamboo racks called arele in traditional drying lofts, or fruttai, during the winter months. Masi prefers the traditional bamboo-cane supports for appassimento. The grapes shrink as they dry, so the fruit enters fermentation after a period of natural concentration instead of going straight from harvest to press.

That cellar choice shapes the range. Amarone uses the drying method for a dry red wine, while Recioto retains sweetness. Masi also adapted appassimento at La Arboleda, where the technique is adjusted to Argentine climatic conditions. The method travels, but the estate does not pretend that Mendoza and Valpolicella are the same place.

Wines

Amarone forms the dry red centre of the Valpolicella range. Mazzano is a cru Amarone from Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara grown in the Mazzano vineyard. Campolongo di Torbe uses the same three grapes from its named vineyard and brings baked fruit, cinnamon, ripe cherry, baked plum and bitter almond into the range, with a rich, full-bodied palate.

Recioto supplies the sweet red counterpart. Angelorum is a Recioto della Valpolicella Classico DOCG made from Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara, with cooked cherry, fruit preserved in spirit, sweetness, acidity and a long finish. Its ageing path moves from a sweet, fruity style toward mature spicy aromas.

Campofiorin occupies a different place as a wine associated with the reintroduction of ripasso. Masi also introduced the rediscovered Oseleta variety into top Amarone blends. At the Argentine end, Corvina and Pinot Grigio join Malbec and Torrontès in original blends, extending the range beyond the Valpolicella formula.

In The Glass

The Amarone sequence begins with deep ruby colour and aromas shaped by winter drying. Campolongo di Torbe rises with baked fruit and cinnamon, then fills the mouth with ripe cherry, baked plum and bitter almond. Its broad, creamy texture carries dense tannins that emerge late, trimming the finish after the wine's weight has arrived.

Mazzano moves toward cherries preserved in spirit and plums, followed by marasca cherry and blueberry on the palate. The aftertaste is long and layered. Both wines show how appassimento moves Corvina-led blends toward darker fruit and greater concentration, while the cru vineyard keeps the bottles distinct within the same regional style.

Angelorum changes the sequence completely. Cooked cherry and fruit preserved in spirit lead to a sweet red palate, where acidity keeps the sweetness moving instead of leaving the wine flat. The finish is long, and its later ageing brings spicy, evolved aromas. Amarone ends dry and full-bodied; Recioto ends sweet, acid-bright and persistent.

A Bottle To Understand It

Mazzano Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG is the first bottle to open. It comes from the named Mazzano vineyard and uses Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara, with the grapes laid out in traditional drying lofts during the cold winter months.

In the glass, Mazzano is opaque ruby with burnished reflections. The nose brings powerful aromas of cherries preserved in spirit and plums. Marasca cherry and blueberry fill the palate, and the wine leaves a complex, surprisingly long aftertaste. Its 16 percent alcohol and stated 35 to 40 year storage life place it firmly in the cru Amarone category. Start here for the direct connection between a named Valpolicella vineyard, appassimento and Masi's mature red-wine style.

Anecdote

In the mid-1960s, Sandro Boscaini proposed that he and his brother Sergio manage a new branch devoted to Amarone and estate wines. Sergio was the oenologist, while Sandro brought the proposal to the family business. They gave the new branch its own name, Tenuta dei Masi, and set its work around two subjects, Amarone and wines from the estate. The decision created a separate home for the wines that would carry the family further into estate bottling, while the brothers brought different skills to the project. The name Tenuta dei Masi remained attached to that new branch.

Final Word

Masi links a 1772 Boscaini vineyard history with a working method that can be seen in the cellar: Corvina-led grapes drying on bamboo arele before Amarone or Recioto takes shape. The bottles then divide clearly. Mazzano and Campolongo di Torbe show named Valpolicella cru wines, Angelorum shows the sweet Recioto tradition, Campofiorin carries ripasso, and Tenuta La Arboleda places Venetian grapes beside Malbec and Torrontès in Mendoza.

Sources

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