Description

This ‘little brother’ to Sassicaia is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon and made in a more approachable style.  The 2022 vintage is very elegant with a mixture of ripe red fruit and more darker fruits tinged with herbal notes alongside dark chocolate and cedar. 

Made with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, the Tenuta San Guido 2022 Guidalberto gives you a good taste of the same DNA that brings us one of Italy’s greatest wines, Sassicaia, but it’s offered in a more immediate style here (thanks to the addition of the Merlot). This warm vintage opens to medium-dark concentration and plump aromas that immediately take you to blackberry and blackcurrant sitting out in the sun at your local farmers market. The wine shows a soft and gentle side with a pretty level of elegance transmitted through the fruit freshness and the light oak spice that is discernible here but delivered with grace.

Drink 2024 – 2030, Monica Larner, Wine Advocate (March 2024)

Full bottle 1,265 g. Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot on limestone rich in alberese and gabbro as well as stones and pebbles, with some clay, at 100 to 300 m above the nearby sea. Facing west and south-west. Warm year and a harvest that began as early as 23 August for the Merlot. Dry ice needed in the winery. 40% new barriques, 40% second use and 20% third and fourth passage in equal proportion (presumably previously used for stablemate Sassicaia). 95% French oak, 5% American.

Interesting nose that manages to be both rich and savoury. Heady top notes and balsam flavours on a palate that is so much more Tuscan than Bordelais! I would not be surprised if someone told me this had some Sangiovese in it. Appetising luncheon wine. It is quite long and well-balanced but, at the moment, needs aeration. It’s still quite tight.

Drink 2025 – 2029, Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (March 2024)