When Bolgheri natives Cinzia Merli and Eugenio Campolmi founded Le Macchiole in 1983, the Tuscan coast was a backwater among Italian wine regions, producing mostly rosé wines. Borrowing funds to buy about ten acres, the husband and wife team began experimenting to see what varieties worked best in their soils. “I still remember the first time that I visited the property,” says Cinzia. “It was an amazing expanse of grain fields and olive trees. There were just a few vineyards at the time, just as there were few wineries. Eugenio and I began with almost no resources, creating a project that is still evolving today.”
The initial 1989 vintage of Paleo Rosso, Le Macchiole’s first label, was a blend of sangiovese and cabernets sauvignon and franc. Despite Bolgheri’s growing reputation for Bordeaux-style blends, Campolmi and Merli wanted to express their terroir in single-variety wines—a category not allowed under the DOC rules until 2013. This philosophy gave rise to Messorio (100% Merlot) and Scrio (100% Syrah) in 1994. By 2001 they had transitioned Paleo Rosso to a pure cabernet franc, and the wine quickly gained a cult following, triggering a cascade of cabernet franc plantings throughout the Tuscan coast.
Eugenio succumbed to lung cancer in 2002 at the age of 40, leaving Cinzia to manage the winery and raise their two young sons. With her brother Massimo overseeing the vineyards, Cinzia embarked on a series of initiatives in the vineyards and the cellar to refine her approach, such as picking earlier to emphasize freshness, double sorting by hand at harvest time, reducing toast levels in the barrels and aging some wine in porcelain vessels. Cinzia’s sons Elia and Mattia have joined the team, helping Le Macchiole to produce wines of exceptional elegance and transparency.
In December 2025, Cinzia was elected president of the Bolgheri DOC and Bolgheri Sassicaia Consortium, which now includes 75 wineries.
Le Macchiole Wines:
- Paleo Bianco Bolgheri DOC – chardonnay and sauvignon blanc
- Bolgheri Rosso DOC – merlot, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, syrah
- Paleo Rosso Toscana IGT – 100% cabernet franc
- Scrio Toscana IGT – 100% syrah
- Messorio Toscana IGT – 100% merlot
FOUNDED: 1983
OWNERS: Cinzia Merli, Elia and Mattia Campolmi
WINEMAKER: Cinzia Merli
ACRES OWNED: 84
ESTATE GROWN: 100%
FARMING PRACTICE: Organic
IMPORTER: Vintus, NY
