Tenuta San Guido’s Guidalberto Tuscan red blend has historically been overshadowed by its more famous sibling Sassicaia, a wine that usually steals all the fine wine headlines. But this scenario is surely going to be challenged and the distinction between the two wines further emphasised when Guidalberto’s new bespoke winery is finally completed in the summer of 2025 with the 2026 harvest earmarked to be the first complete vintage produced in the new facility, built on an old brick works site on the Tenuta San Guido estate in Bolgheri.
The bigger sibling, Sassicaia, is normally a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc (88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Cabernet Franc in the 2022 blend) that is aged for almost two years in predominantly French oak barriques. Guidalberto on the other hand, is usually a Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend (55% and 45% in 2023) which is aged for around 12 months in barrel. Apart from the blend, Guidalberto stuck out from Sassicaia’s blend when the wines were shown to the press alongside each other with Guidalberto always coming from a vintage one year younger, and very often was actually a barrel sample rather than a finished bottled wine like Sassicaia.
Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta presenting the 2023 Guidalberto in London.
Owner, Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta and Sales Director Guido Baldeschi, explained at the recent Sassicaia 2022 launch that the number of bottles of Sassicaia produced is to drop by about 10% from 290 to 300,000 bottles per year to circa 250,000. Likewise, Guidalberto will have its output reduced to circa 280,000 bottles per year (in 2019 there were 430,000 bottles produced), while Tenuta San Guido’s Le Difese blend will settle at around 300 to 320,000 bottles per year. Guidalberto will also spend 4 to 6 months longer in oak barrels and Le Difese 1 to 2 months more.
The big brother … Sassicaia
Guidalberto is now launched at its own dedicated release tasting event and in mid-March 2025, the Guidalberto 2023 was profiled, coming from a ‘more challenging’ growing season with downy mildew affecting flowering and fruit set after a very wet May, which resulted in a -5% production loss, although further damage was avoided by the dedicated actions of the 120 Tenuta San Guido vineyard workers. There is nothing challenging about the 2023 wine however, which ably represents the ever-rising quality of this prestige Tuscan label.
Tenuta San Guido Guidalberto 2023, IGT Toscana, 13.65% Abv.
6.12 TA | 3.44pH
A classical blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Merlot from 18-year-old vines, the 2023 displays a deep dark opaque colour suggesting a broody aromatics which is indeed tightly packed with red and black berry fruits, damson plum and sun-dried black cherry laced with sweet baking herbs and subtle hoisin plum sauce nuances. The energy on the palate is notable, the acids bright and tangy, combing with sweet savoury berry fruits, creamy tannins, and a spicy, mineral-tinged length. Beautiful mid-palate weight with a long, intense, potent finish. This is another serious release indeed! Drink from 2026 to 2038+.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Guidalberto 2023 and the wines of Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia are imported and sold in the UK through Armit Wines.
Castello della Sala, considered one of the most extraordinary examples of medieval architecture in Italy, is located in Umbria, a short distance from the Tuscan border – about 11 miles from the historic city of Orvieto. The estate’s 229 hectares (565 acres) are planted with traditional varieties such as Procanico and Grechetto, but also with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Sèmillon, Pinot Bianco, Viognier, and a small percentage of Traminer and Riesling.
Cervaro archive vertical 2005-2013
This famous Antinori family estate started producing innovative wines from the non-traditional grape varieties of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc back in the 1980s under the direction of Marchese Piero Antinori, son of Niccolò, along with Renzo Cotarella, Castello della Sala’s enologist at that time.
Castello della Sala, Umbria
The Umbrian estate has always posed – and still continues to pose – a continuous challenge for Marchesi Antinori who has dedicated years of research and experimentation in viticulture and oenology to maximize the potential of indigenous varieties and also to determine how the area’s microclimates contribute to the production of contemporary wines.
Chardonnay vineyards at Castello della Sala
Bramito della Sala is the estate’s 100% Chardonnay cuvee that was first produced in 1994. The grapes are from younger Chardonnay vines on the estate, sitting on soils rich in fossil deposits with veins of clay that give this wine minerality and elegance. The juice is only part barrel fermented, with malolactic fermentation lending a luscious creamy texture and flavour to the wine.
Masterclass with Allegra Antinori
The estate’s flagship wine, Cervaro della Sala, was one of the first Italian white wines to employ malolactic fermentation and ageing taking place in French oak barriques. The name Cervaro comes from the noble family who owned Castello della Sala during the 14th century: the Monaldeschi della Cervara. A blend of Chardonnay grapes and a small quantity of Grechetto (normally around 10%) make a wine that can age well over time and represents the elegance and complexity of this unique estate. After several failed attempts in the early 1980’s, the first official release was heralded in 1985 with a blend of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Grechetto to add an Italian twist to the wine.
Archive stock sealed under cork and heavy wax.
“There is a subliminal tension between the Chardonnay and Grechetto and you kind of feel while they agree to cohabit together, they will never truly shake hands and be the best of friends. For Cervaro, this is perhaps the secret recipe, allowing the wines to retain a tension, tautness, nerve, and vigour.” ~ Allegra Antinori
Marchesi Antinori Cervaro della Sala 2005, Umbria, 13% Abv.
85% Chardonnay and 15% Grechetto – Beautiful deep straw yellow, the 2005 has an alluring nose of crushed mint leaf, baking herbs, wet hay, burnt sugar, toffee apples and spicy, dusty, slatey minerality. The palate shows great subtlety, creamy harmony and sumptuous tertiary earthy, lemony depth. Impressive gravitas, great breadth and a beautifully complex finish of honey, camomile tea and caramelised lemons. A pleasure to drink.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Marchesi Antinori Cervaro della Sala 2006, Umbria, 13% Abv.
85% Chardonnay and 15% Grechetto – The most complex of aromatics with brioche, caramel, Coche-Dury’esque struck match flinty notes, lemon pith and proviteroll richness. Incredible green gauge intensity, yellow citrus, basalt minerality, mint leaf, and honeyed camomile tea. Wonderful to see a wine finally revealing its heart and soul to the drinker after 18+ years of bottles captivity.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Marchesi Antinori Cervaro della Sala 2009, Umbria, 13% Abv.
85% Chardonnay and 15% Grechetto – A beautifully complex nose that marries creamy lemon pastille and white peach confit with struck match Burgundian flinty reduction. Everything is in such superb balance, with great synergy between wood spice, minerality, and vibrant acidity. Intense and mineral, this wine reveals the true pedigree of Cervaro!
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Marchesi Antinori Cervaro della Sala 2011, Umbria, 13.5% Abv.
90% Chardonnay and 10% Grechetto – Still taut, restrained mineral nose with hints of truffle, wet chalk, lemon pastille, and bruised yellow orchard fruits peppered with a delicious struck match reduction. The palate is soft, broad and sumptuous, seamlessly intense and saline backed by a wonderful backbone of pithy citrus and dusty, gravelly, minerality. Wonderful harmonious peachy, vibrant finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Marchesi Antinori Cervaro della Sala 2013, Umbria, 12.5% Abv.
90% Chardonnay and 10% Grechetto – Rich toasty nose brimming with buttered toast, lemon blossom, caramelised apples, and vanilla pod spice lift. The palate shows great tension, flinty minerality and piquant spicy skin and wood tannins that are beautifully integrated with yellow orchard fruits, pithy citrus and spicy lemon crumble. Taut, young, and very impressive.
The revolution in premium wine quality that has occurred in Italy over the past three decades must surely count as one of the wider wine success stories on a continent that has generally witnessed decreasing consumption. From Piedmont to Tuscany to Puglia, no region was left untouched by the wave of new quality wine production. Tuscany certainly grabbed its fair share of the wine headlines with Chianti Classico, Bolgheri and Montalcino leading the charge. But another great homeland of Sangiovese somehow seemed to miss out on a similar amount of fame, namely Vino Nobile di Montepulciano – and no estate in the region is more famous for their winemaking achievements over the past 15+ years than the Avignonesi Estate.
Situated in the hills of Tuscany on the edge of Montepulciano near Cortona, Avignonesi became synonymous with quality wine making as far back as the 1970s, but it was only when the estate passed into the hands of the Belgian industrialist Virginie Saverys in 2008 that the developments we now see in the estate’s vineyards and in the Avignonesi wines themselves became clear. Much of this change has focused on the vineyards, with conversion to biodynamic agriculture and organic production being the spearhead that has allowed the wines to not only soar in quality, but in a way that is true to the vineyards and terroir from which the grapes are sourced.
Owner Virginie Saverys at Avignonesi
Avignonesi is now considered a Sangiovese specialist, but they have also dedicated much effort to promote other native red and white indigenous varieties from the region, in many instances as a quality assurance in the face of global climate change. With the organic and biodynamic vineyard practices carried into the winery, owner Virginie has sought to not only allow the wines to benefit qualitatively but also the wider Avignonesi worker community.
Walking the Avignonesi vineyards.
My last visit to the estate was way back in May 2018, when I spent several days walking the vineyards, visiting and tasting at the winery and soaking up the wider Tuscan culture of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Similarly, Virginie Saverys’ journey to winery ownership began when she visited Tuscany and fell in love with the place and its wines. In 2007, she purchased 20% of Avignonesi (established in 1974) and in 2009, the two brothers who owned the winery, sold it to her in its entirety. Virginie Saverys came to winery ownership first and foremost as a wine consumer, not as a winemaker, but she did spend two years in Bordeaux immersed in vineyards and winemaking to prepare herself for winery ownership. Her background is in law and Virginie brings her lawyerly attention to every detail at Avignonesi.
Under Virginie’s tenure, Avignonesi has eliminated the use of all herbicides and pesticides in the vineyards which were certified Organic in 2016 and Biodynamic in 2019. Of the 174 hectares under vine, 99 hectares are planted to Sangiovese and fermentations only use naturally occurring yeasts, with Avignonesi’s wines now also Vegan certified. There is a genuine and meaningful commitment to the land and local natural environment and accordingly to my knowledge, Avignonesi remains the largest fully biodynamic certified estate in Europe.
Avignonesi Vin Santo cellar.
I recently caught up with their brand ambassador in London and took the opportunity to refresh my Avignonesi tasting notes with a selection of their current releases, all available in the UK through Andrew Johnson at Woodwinters.
A honey bronze yellow colour, this 2023 blend is circa 50% Orpicchio, 19% Grechetto, 12% Vermentino, and a co-fermentation of Trebbiano and Malvasia. Rich and juicy on the nose, the aromatics are full of yellow orchard fruits, melted honey on toast, with complexing hints of lychee, potpourri, and lemon herbal tea nuances. The palate is medium to full bodied, beautifully vibrant and tangy with zesty acids, a concentrated lemon and herbal white peach depth, finishing with a pithy, mouthwatering Golden Delicious appley length. Drink now to 2028+.
Another exciting expression from the Avignonesi estate that circumvents the use of stainless steel and oak barrels in favour of Tuscan clay amphorae, hence the name Da-Di was chosen, meaning “earth, soil” in Chinese. Vinified in 13 terracotta vessels made in Tuscany – 8 manufactured by Artenova in Impruneta, and 5 were manufactured by Laboratorio San Rocco in Torrita di Siena using clay from the famous Mount Amiata. An exotic blend of indigenous Tuscan varieties including 28,04% Canaiolo, 27,08% Sangiovese, 23,51% Mammolo, 15,67% Alicante, and 5,7% Ciliegiolo, the 2022 is initially slightly broody and closed on the nose as is common with Amphorae wines, but after a little air, the wine simply blossoms into an energetic expression showing bright perfumed aromatics of violets and star anise, red currants and crushed raspberries with an intricate basaltic minerality interwoven into the fabric of the wine. The texture is medium bodied but deliciously inviting, layered with chalky mineral tannins, red and black berry fruits, hints of dried baking spices and raspberry coulis, finishing with an energetically fresh, tangy bright acidity that makes the palate salivate and invites another sip. A pretty style of wine that trades on subtlety, elegance and freshness instead of overt power. Drink on release and over 3 to 5+ years.
Produced from 100% Sangiovese grapes sourced from bush vine vineyards planted between 1995 and 2017, the wine was aged for 18 months in mainly Slavonian oak casks as well as some French oak barriques and tonneaux. From a warm dry vintage, the nose reveals a seductive fragrance of ripe red cherries, sun raisined cranberries and ripe pomegranate with delicate hints of sweet sandal wood and vanilla pod spice. The palate is incredibly harmonious and inviting, with sweet fleshy Sangiovese red and black berry fruit notes coating the palate with yet more red cherry, plum compote, and subtle earthy red currant nuances. The wine shows beautifully supple tannins that are fine grained and gently mineral and drying, supported by incredibly well integrated tangy, vibrant acids. This is a wine that displays the most friendly and attractive personality of Sangiovese from Montepulciano with accessibility, precision, and elegance. Simply delicious. Drink on release and over 8 to 10 years.
As always, a 100% Sangiovese cuvee from Vino Nobile coming from a more challenging vintage, this archive release was introduced to market just as it was starting to reach its prime drinking window. A cool, subtle vintage handled with great care, the aromatics show a delicate tertiary complexity of soft black liquorice, sun raisined black berry, tilled earth, sweet Christmas spices and subtle herbal wood spice notions. Beautifully sleek and supple in the mouth, the palate reveals macerated black plums, salty liquorice, and earthy black currant wrapped in super fine-grained tannins with a sleek integrated acidity. Maturing beautifully so far, this wine might just be a sommelier’s dream ticket with its beautiful approachability. Drink now and over the next 5-8 years.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Poggetto di Sopra 2020, DOCG Toscana, 13.5% Abv.
Another terrific pure Sangiovese that shows a deliciously expressive aromatics of warm black berry compote, earthy red currants, mulberries, melted tar, and damson plum. Broody and dark fruited, on the palate the wine comes alive boasting a silky, spicy black fruited depth, sour plum, pithy black cherry and hoisin plum sauce nuances. Silky, soft and fleshy, there is a great approachability and generosity to the fruit but also a fine, noble mineral restraint. This is a top-drawer Vino Nobile with fruit harmony, a spicy complexity and great persistence on the finish. This is exactly what consumers want from this famous region!
Pure Merlot’s premium reputation in Tuscany precedes it with multiple distinguished examples earning a lot of friends around the world. While some can be rather sweet and plummy, this pretty Avignonesi expression shows an attractive aromatics of black cherries, black currant, and inky blue berries with delicate notions of salted caramel and vanilla pod oak spice. The texture is taut and chiselled, with a defined linearity and steely acid frame adding to a fine boned mineral skeletal frame that support the ample stewed black berry, black plum and mulberry fruits. This is a serious, stern, contemplative, age worthy Merlot expression with a wonderfully stony minerality, pronounced graphite nuances, and a polished pithy blueberry finish. Drink from now until 2034+.
First created in 1988 as a joint venture between friends, this 50% Sangiovese and 50% Merlot blend speaks of the friendship and enjoyment that sharing great bottles of wine brings into peoples’ lives. The aromatics are enticingly deep and broody, tightly packed with layers of red and black berry fruits, sweet earthy black currant, hints of mulberry and an attractive freshly baked black cherry pie nuance. The palate shows a precise, linear, mouth-watering acidity that lends extra structural ballast to the polished marble tannins, that are draped in ripe savoury blue and black berry fruits with hints of stewed winter plums, sweet balsamic reduction, and dried baking spices. A confident wine that is effortlessly balanced yet harbours a deceptively powerful depth and breadth. Enjoy this punchy, concentrated expression now and over the next 5 to 10+ years.
Guidalberto was always known as the official second wine of Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia even though it was a slightly different blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot compared to Sassicaia’s Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc cuvee. First released in 2000 to mark the Millenium, it was originally conceived to be more approachable earlier than its bigger sibling Sassicaia but still retain an impressive age worthiness if cellared.
As time has passed, the Guidalberto cuvee has taken on a more individual identity to the point where it is now regarded by Tenuta San Guido as its own wine and no longer a notional second wine of Sassicaia. As such, construction commenced in 2022/3 to build Guidalberto its own dedicated winery and this is expected to be completed in late 2025 or early 2026.
Tenuta San Guido’s director of winemaking, Carlo Paoli, is on record for saying that he thought the Guidalberto 2021 was the finest vintage ever produced. So after tasting and reviewing the newly released Sassicaia 2021 recently, I decided to pull a bottle of the Guidalberto 2021 out the cellar and see how it’s looking after an extra year in bottle. With stocks still available on the open market at affordable prices, this wine seems a particularly wise buy for circa £220-£250 IB per 6 compared to Sassicaia 2021’s rather punchy £1,250 IB per 6 new release price.
Tenuta San Guido Guidalberto 2021, IGT Toscana, 13.5% Abv.
There doesn’t seem to be complete agreement amongst growers as to whether 2021 in Bolgheri was an easy or difficult vintage. What certainly is in agreement is that this cooler Tuscan vintage yielded some incredibly taut, intense, vibrant wines. Aged in 85% French and 15% American oak 225 litre barrels, 40% new, for 15 months, this beautiful Guidalberto 2021 boasts fabulously piercing aromatics of violets, black cherries, blackberry compote and seductive dark plum over sweet exotic Christmas spices and stony graphite notes. The oak and vanilla wood spice is still busy integrating with the super taut, tight palate fruit intensity, perhaps at a slightly slower pace than in a riper, warmer vintage. But it’s the palate’s chiselled focus and linearity that marks this vintage as a true stand out expression amongst more recent dryer, warmer years. The texture is laser focused but also wonderfully transparent showing the true mineral terroir characteristics of Bolgheri together with a wonderfully fresh, tart, glassy acidity supported by sleek, polished marble tannins on a pithy cherry cola packed finish. A vintage to be truly celebrated but also one best to bury in the cellar for an another 8 to 10+ years.
Few wine estates have captured the collective imagination of the wine trade and fine wine consumers in recent years quite like Sassicaia has, making every new vintage release a notable event in the annual fine wine calendar. “Each vintage is a small but determinant step in preserving our unique heritage and creating a long-lasting legacy. We feel a profound responsibility in offering to the world not simply a wine, but a symbol of virtuous coexistence of man and nature”, states Sassicaia General Manager Carlo Paoli.
On the 2,500-hectare estate, 115 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc vines are cultivated on the estate-owned plots of Castiglioncello, Aia Nuova, Cerreta, Sassicaia di Sopra and San Martino. Planted on limestone rich soils, the vineyards are located at an average altitude of between 100 and 300 meters above sea level, with exposure to the West / Southwest.
With the perfect terroir, all that is needed for an exceptional vintage of Sassicaia is an optimal vintage, and this is exactly what the estate experienced during the lead up to the 2021 vintage. The autumn of 2020 was characterized by mild temperatures and alternating rainfall. From mid-October to the second half of December the rains were more frequent, and temperatures dropped below the seasonal norm. Except for the week of Christmas, the remaining winter period was rainy and intensely cold, conditions which favoured the resting vines after several consecutive hot, dry seasons.
Sassicaia barrel cellar
The situation changed drastically in the last week of February with a sharp rise in daytime temperatures, almost spring-like, and sunny days. March was dry and generally sunny. In the very first days of April, temperatures were mild and from mid-April they began to drop dramatically again, approaching 0°C at night. Throughout the month of April and a good part of the month of May, sunny days and sporadic rains were alternating, sometimes even stormy, but with a continuation of fresh air and temperatures below the seasonal norm, especially in the early hours of the morning and at night. From the second ten days of May the weather situation changed with a substantial rise in temperatures and the definitive arrival of the beautiful season.
The vines were not affected by the strong heat of the summer months and the development of the vegetation continued regularly, although with smaller bunches and berries, suggesting a harvest of reduced quantity but also greater concentration of fruit. The progress of ripening at the end of August was stable and constant, favouring optimal phenolic ripening, and harvesting operations for the 52nd vintage of Sassicaia commenced on the 1st September under ideal weather conditions.
Sassicaia Le Difese 2022, IGT Toscana Rosso, 13.5% Abv.
0.32g/l RS| 5.60g/l TA | 3.50pH
This traditional Cabernet Sauvignon – Sangiovese blend is a super bright and crystalline offering, the aromatics subtle and sultry with a delicate smoky blackberry melange of cherry and juniper with a delicate black plum spice. In the mouth the wine is super sleek and elegant possessing ample fruit weight, silky creamy tannins and a picante, salty black currant persistence. Another wonderfully well honed, harmonious le Difese that is deliciously forward and ready to drink now and over the next 8 to 10+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 2021, Bolgheri-Sassicaia DOCG, 14.10% Abv.
0.15g/l RS| 6.10g/l TA| 3.43pH
A truly wonderful vintage of freshness, elegance and purity, this super attractive 2021 release boasts seductive aromatics of roasted herbs, sweet sappy sandalwood spice, picante black cherry and bramble berry nuances intricately interwoven with hints of sweet, moist tobacco leaf, black cherry kirsch liquor, and a subtle crushed limestone minerality. The palate is silky and seamless, beautifully finessed into a weightless, perfectly formed fine wine with lacey tannins, a soft intricate intensity of fruit and an incredible red and black berry fruit concentration, all in perfect harmony. This wine certainly speaks of greatness and overt purity and precision that, in this cooler vintage, come together in perfect synergy. Undoubtedly ranked among Sassicaia’s greatest ever releases… and for me personally, a wine that absolutely personifies the cooler vintage affinity of this world class winery. Drink from 2025 to 2048+.
(Wine Safari Score: 99/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Tenuta San Guido wines are imported into the UK by Armit Wines and are available for retail on allocation from fine wine merchant Museum Wines.
Gaja Pieve Santa Restituta is one of Angelo Gaja’s two Tuscan properties, on the site of an old church, Santa Restituta, which dates back to the 4th century. As is the family’s style, theirs is a fusion of modern and traditional winemaking. Gaja also owns land on the Buonconvento Northern side of Montalcino and some prestigious lands in the South, a stone’s throw from Sesti in Argiano. The Northern sites normally all go into the Brunello di Montalcino ‘normale’ with Sugarille and Rennina, located around the winery on the Southern side of the town, being bottled individually as Crus. These three Brunellos from one of the finest names in Italian wine are always impeccably crafted and full of character and finesse.
In 2019, Gaja bought a five-hectare vineyard in the southwestern area of Montalcino at a higher altitude of 400 meters above sea level in the area of Bolsignano, followed in 2020 by an additional five-hectare plot of land acquired near the so-called Passo del Lume Spento at 630 meters in elevation in an attempt to mitigate potential global warming problems in the future. Drinkers and critics alike look forward to seeing how these new parcels will be incorporated into the wine range and what changes they may make to the current wine style and quality.
For now, we get to enjoy the new releases from the 2018 vintage, which considering it was a warm and dry year in Montalcino, has produced wines noted for their freshness, bright fruits and textural finesse. The 2018 Gaja Brunello is made up from a selection of grapes from the Rennina and Sugarille vineyards that are blended with those from Torrenieri, in the northeastern area of Montalcino. While the soil in Rennina and Sugarille is clay-calcareous with high amounts of galestro (the rocky, schistous clay soil), the ground in Torrenieri is a mixture of clay, silt, and sand. The grapes from the different vineyards were then fermented and macerated separately for around three weeks. After 24 months of ageing in oak, the wines were blended and then aged for another six months in concrete vats before bottling.
Gaja Pieve Santa Restituta Brunello di Montalcino 2018 DOP, 14.5% Abv.
The 2018 vintage is certainly noted for its freshness, finesse and linearity and among the best producers, there was a small but tantalising array of top-class wines produced. This characterful Gaja Brunello di Montalcino displays an impressive aromatic complexity, textural elegance and savoury depth of fruit on the palate. On the nose the wine reveals expressive notes of crushed blueberries, savoury cured meats, freshly cut bresaola, chargrilled charcuterie, grilled herbs and roasted chestnuts over pithy red cherry, sun raisined cranberry and red liquorice nuances. The palate is initially taut, broody and slightly introspective but once given air starts to open up, fanning its peacock tail of flavours. The elegance and freshness on the palate eventually give way to more assertive characteristics of sweet black cherries, rosemary and thyme herbal hints, ripe black orchard stone fruits, an alluring salinity and gentle hints of balsamic and vanilla pod spice on the finish. This is an altogether cooler, more herbal, mineral expression that will undoubtedly enjoy an eager following among Brunello lovers and collectors. Drink now or cellar for another 8 to 10+ years.
Il Bruciato was created in the year 2002 during one of the most difficult vintages at Guado al Tasso in order to present the unique terroir of Bolgheri and give it a greater visibility and recognition. The first blend to be used was that of Guado al Tasso only to see, in the years which followed, a modification of the varietal composition and the identification of a series of vineyard plots intended to be used exclusively for this wine.
Until the current DOC regulations were laid down in 1994, Sassicaia and the other top Super Tuscan wines produced were usually sold as Vino da Tavola or Toscana IGT. Today a Bolgheri Rosso like Il Bruciato from Tenuta Guado Al Tasso may be made entirely from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, or a blend combining one or more of these, and / or up to 50 percent of Syrah or Sangiovese. Other red grapes such as Petit Verdot may account for up to 30 percent. Earlier DOC regulations prevented monovarietal wines from being produced as Bolgheri Rosso, and some examples such as Masseto (pure Merlot) are also still labelled as Toscana IGT.
The Tenuta Guado Al Tasso estate covers an area of 320 hectares and is planted with vines, set in a beautiful plain encircled by rolling hillsides known as the “Bolgheri Amphitheatre” due to its particular shape. The vineyards are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Vermentino. The nearby sea provides a mild climate with constant cooling breezes that mitigate the sometimes oppressive summer heat but also act to alleviate harsh winter weather, maintaining a clear sky and a high level of sunlight exposure to the vines.
The world’s weather has become increasingly wild in recent years and looks set to continue as climate change makes its influence felt more and more. Although much of the growing season for 2021 was distinctly odd the world over, much of the vintage was surprisingly good – in some places like Bolgheri, even excellent. Thanks to a winter period full of rains, it had a very regular pattern, with a well-ventilated dry summer with temperatures never above the seasonal average. The good temperature ranges that began in the second half of August favoured the aromatic finesse of the grapes. The wines of the 2021 vintage are certainly convincing with a marked acidity freshness, ripe sweet tannins and a good level of phenolic extraction. It promises to be one of the best vintages for aging potential and it is presumably for this reason that the 2021 vintage was awarded a 5-Star rating.
Bolgheri Vintage Ratings: 1983 to 2021
Tenuta Guado Al Tasso Il Bruciato Bolgheri Rosso 2021, 14% Abv.
The 2021 Il Bruciato is a highly anticipated wine release especially after the broader Bolgheri region’s 5-star vintage rating awarded recently. This new release shows an intense, vibrant ruby red colour with just the faintest hint of youthful purple on the rim. Over the years, while this wine has undoubtedly increased considerably in price, it has also moved up to an undeniably more premium nouveau of fine wine quality and collectability. Within this release, the intricate, expressive aromatics are displayed to full effect with a fabulously crisp, tart, bright crunchy red and black cherry fruited nose punctuated by supremely expensive French oak vanilla pod spices, hints of warm buttered brown toast, sweet cherry tobacco and subtle notes of red salty liquorice. On the palate there is a texture of silk, with each blended component bringing its A game: the Merlot offering up its unique Bolgheri pithy cherry intensity, the Cabernet Sauvignon providing backbone, liquorice, cassis, cedar and spice, and the Cabernet Franc filling in the cracks to form the most unified and elegant of red offerings. As with all 5-star vintages, the paramount differentiating quality factor is the unique combination of fruit intensity combined with weightless concentration, together with bright, seamless acids that create a truly breath-taking wine. For me, this release opens a new door of elevated precision and quality that Italian fine wine aficionados and collectors with an eye for value and age ability will surely find irresistible. Drink on release and comfortably over the next 10 to 12+ years.
As the world gets back to normal after pandemic disruptions, new fine wine releases are also slowly getting back on track and becoming more frequent. Today I was privileged to join one of my favourite wine personalities, Gaia Gaja, for a true celebration of 20 years of Ca’ Marcanda including a tutored tasting and a preview of the fabulous new 2019 releases.
Magari is an Italian expression holding different meanings: “If only it was true…!” or “I wish…!” It is said to carry a sort of irony which usually leads people to smile, and I can tell you this Magari 2019 certainly made me smile with pleasure. Undoubtedly always one of my favourite cuvées in the range that includes the Promis and Ca’ Marcanda flagship Rosso, once again the superb Magari expression delivers something very special indeed.
The entrancing Gaia Gaja resplendent in the London Spring sunshine of Pall Mall.
Made from fruit grown on classic dark Bolgheri soils rich in limestone and clay, the three varieties were fermented and macerated separately for around 15 days before circa 12 months of oak barrel ageing. The maiden release was vintage 2000. Watch out for all the new, incredibly serious but seductive releases from Gaja Ca’ Marcanda Bolgheri.
The 2019 Magari is a blend of 60% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot. Showing taut broody aromatics in its youth, this is a very serious linear Magari that needs coaxing to come out and play. Wonderfully dark fruited with cool limestone minerality, lavender, graphite and subtle oak spice notes, the palate is incredibly fine and polished, super precise and harmonious with a five star balance and intensity. The finish is cool, creamy and beautifully pure with smoky creme de cassis and a pithy black cherry elegance that very slowly melts away on the long, persistent finish. Stern but seductive and very serious! Bravo Gaja! Drink from 2024 to 2044+.
It is no secret that for the past decade, Bordeaux negociants have been marking out new territory and colonising a whole new array of fine wine producers outside of their usual Bordeaux remit, from Bolgheri to Napa, Constantia to Aconcagua Valley. Slowly but surely, more and more international producers have been lured in and shifted all or most of their distribution into Europe via ‘the Place’… named after the de facto En-primeur institution that is the Place de Bordeaux.
I regularly get asked about the pros and cons of moving one’s distribution solely to the Place, but I will save that discussion for another day because today the authoritative Bordeaux negociant CVBG rolled into London town and presented a pretty spectacular array of collectable new releases. With Covid protocols in practice, tastings were restricted to timed slots so my notes are short and brief.
The New Italian Releases:
Caiarossa 2018, Toscana
A blend of 30% Syrah, 28% Cabernet Franc, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot, 5% Sangiovese and 2% Alicante. The initial impression is one of fine-tuned richness and opulence with expressive complexity. Palate is packed with black currant fruits, dusty mocha and lovely well integrated fine grained gravelly tannins. A well-conceived Tuscan blend that performs.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Bibi Graetz Testamatta 2019, Toscana
This 100% Sangiovese cuvee from the famed Bibi Graetz shows impressive perfume of white lily blossom combined with a lifted, piquant spice that melts into red currants, liquorice and pink musk. In the mouth it is bright, fresh and weightlessly concentrated, bristling with tart red cherry, hints of tar, red liquorice and finishes with a long, classical gravelly mineral persistence. A very smart wine indeed.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Bibi Graetz Colore 2019, Toscana
Produced from three 100% Sangiovese vineyard sites with 70, 80 and 90-year-old vines, this iconic cuvee from Bibi Graetz is a monumental effort resonating with a rich deep opulent nose of extroverted blue and black berry fruit nuances that are layered and cool on the palate with an impressively creamy textured mouthfeel packed with intensity, a sleek salty complexity and a generous caramelised kiss of blueberry fruit. Delicious in every sense.
(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Marchesi Antinori Solaia 2018, Toscana
From the famously cooler 2018 growing season in Tuscany, this Solaia retains an authoritatively deep, dark, rich and bold character while simultaneously showing impressive subtlety, complex notes of cedar, lead pencil, graphite and pithy herby black currant fruits. The palate is full and robust, spicy and intense with freshness and fabulous focus. A definitively herby cool vintage character evident in this complex imposing wine.
(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Tenuta del Ornellaia Massetino 2019, Toscana
This notoriously difficult to buy, small production second wine from the Masseto estate in Bolgheri is a blend of 94% Merlot with 6% Cabernet Franc. Exceptionally well proportioned and balanced, the nose is positively brimming with dark broody black berry fruits with interwoven notes of sweet cedar spice, black plum, vanilla pod, blueberry crumble and a sleek graphite complexity with fine grained tannins on the finish. Powerful but also seductive.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Tenuta del Ornellaia Masseto 2018, Toscana
This 100% Merlot is wonderfully dark and opaque in colour, the aromatics are vibrant and expressive bursting with notes of violets and pink flowers, dried rose petals and white flowers melting into notes of sour plum and ripe macerated cherries. The palate is cool and fresh with focused glassy acids, an impressive taut linearity and the most engrossing and precise textural balance imaginable. There is intensity and refreshing length of dark berry fruits that combine with strikingly mineral graphite tannins that finish with great power and authority. Another benchmark Masseto.
The Guado al Tasso estate is located in the small but prestigious Bolgheri DOC appellation on the coast of Upper Maremma, about one hundred kilometers southwest of Florence. This appellation has a relatively recent history as it was only established in 1994 but has since gained worldwide recognition as a new reference point in the international fine wine scene.
Il Bruciato, the second wine, was first produced in 2002 in one of the most difficult vintages ever for the famous Guado al Tasso estate. The wine is now regarded as a modern interpretation of Bolgheri’s unique terroir made from carefully selected Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah grapes from all around Guado al Tasso’s vineyards.
Sunrise over the Guado Al Tasso Vineyards
The 2019 vintage’s growing season saw relatively cool weather in April and May then hot, dry conditions throughout the end of July. The slight delay in the vines’ initial growth cycle evened out as summer began. A sudden rise in temperatures caused the vines to produce lighter, loosely packed clusters, especially notable in the late ripening varieties where fruit set wasn’t yet fully completed. The months of August and September brought steady sunny weather that allowed grapes to progress to full ripeness in optimal conditions.
Harvesting operations began with Merlot at the beginning of September and were completed with Cabernet Sauvignon at the beginning of October. The other grape varieties, Syrah and smaller quantities of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, were picked during the last half of September.
Cabernet Sauvignon was blended with Merlot, Syrah and a small percentage of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot and the final blend was reintroduced into barriques where it was left to age before bottling.
Antinori Tenuta Guado Al Tasso Il Bruciato 2019, Bolgheri DOC, 14.5% Abv.
Always an exceptional wine of compelling quality, the fresher, more structured 2018 sold out very quickly after release making the 2019 even more anticipated. An exciting new vintage, the wine is decidedly more opulent and generously fruited with aromatics of black cherry tobacco, black berry, graphite, iron filings, sweet cedar and purple rock candy confectionary nuances on the finish. On the palate there is an impressive depth of fruit with a notable glycerol, mouth-filling breadth together with sweet creamy mineral tannins and a fleshy mocha-laced black berry fruit accessibility. Where the 2018 was slightly more angular, cooler and nervy, the 2019 is more seductive, opulent, luxurious and obviously riper. While this is a wine that has increased in price significantly over the past few years it remains a real must-buy for regular Bolgheri enthusiasts.
