Tenuta San Guido is located in the Bolgheri seaside region of Tuscany, Italy. The Sassicaia wine produced in the winery is known as the king of Italian wines and enjoys the reputation of "Italian Lafite".
Mario Incisa della Rocchetta is the founder of Tenuta San Guido. He loves wine, horse racing and environmental protection. He has always dreamed of making a wine of excellent quality, an Italian wine that can be popular among the upper class, preferably in the Bordeaux style. In the 1940s, Marquis Mario and his wife came to settle in Sanguito Winery. He kept experimenting with this high-quality soil and finally made the pioneering use of Cabernet Sauvignon to make wine. innovation, becoming the "first person to eat crabs".
Tenuta San Guido produced Sassicaia wine from 1948 until the mid-1960s, but at that time it was only consumed within the winery. 1968 is a year worth remembering. This year, Sassicaia, which has been continuously improved, was launched for the first time. In the international blind tasting competition that year, Sassicaia shocked the entire wine world with its excellent performance. Its popularity is comparable to the top wineries in Bordeaux.
Tenuta San Guido's vineyard covers an area of 173 acres (about 70 hectares), all located in the Sassicaia DOC production area. The garden is planted with 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc. The average age of grapevines is 25-30 years, the planting density is 4,000-5,000 plants/hectare, and the average yield is 1 kg/plant.
Tenuta San Guido's wines are produced in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats with a capacity of between 3,500 and 11,000 liters. The maceration time is approximately 2 weeks. Aging is carried out in 33% new French oak barrels with a capacity of 225 liters for 2 years.
🏅 Wine Advocate 100 pts
Here it is: A quintessential Sassicaia that represents the excellence of the vintage and also respects the unique taste profile of this distinguished Tuscan blend of Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc. The Tenuta San Guido 2021 Bolgheri Sassicaia offers impeccable balance, excellent freshness and absolutely no signs of over-ripeness. The fruit balance is ideal with a hint of crunch and lasting tension from pulp and skins. The tannins are deftly managed with firm grip and enough velvetiness to add volume and length. There is no greenness on the bouquet that instead offers mulled herbs and spice, with cinnamon and clove, layered delicately between mostly red and some purple berry fruits. Redcurrant, blueberry, sweet pomegranate and Rainier cherry run strong in this vintage. A fragrant hint of heritage rose emerges with time. The oak tones are geared toward gingerbread, hazelnut, cigar, sandalwood and something like a grilled sweet red pepper. To the palate, it offers nice weight with no heavy glycerin, and a rinse of acidity that adds to the wine’s natural energy, brightness and viscosity. That marked freshness opens the wine up to long aging potential, but you still need to give it more time in bottle.
🏅 James Suckling 98 pts
Very classy and typical of Sassicaia with currant, tobacco, chocolate, sage and lavender on the nose and palate. Medium- to full-bodied with very integrated and refined tannins that are caressing and pretty with a lovely length and beauty. Such finesse and structure at the same time. Best in 2028 and beyond but already joy to taste.
🏅 Vinous 98+ pts
The 2021 Sassicaia is one of the best young Sassicaias l can remembertasting, certainly on par with anything in recent memory. The preferencehere is picking on the earlier side relative to many neighboring properties,which is one of the reasons Sassicaia is always a wine of refinement morethan opulence. At the same time, Sassicaia can be light. Not in 2021. Allthe elements came together during a long growing season to produce arich, deep wine that marries textural intensity with classicism. Darkcherry/plum fruit, spice, new leather, menthol, licorice and spice all raceacross the palate. Time in the glass brings out the wine's textural intensityand sheer power. The 202l is one of the most concentrated Sassicaias onrecord. That allowed for long macerations, as long as 20 days for someCabernets. Aging was 25 months in French oak barrels (95% French, 5% amix of Hungarian and Slavonian wood), 40% new, 40% once-used barrelsand 20% in twice-used barrels. One of the recent developments here issome bátonnage in aging, which is used to build texture. That approachworked well in 2021.In a word: magnificent.
