We have recently purchased a parcel of the much-anticipated new release of Antinori’s ‘Super Tuscan’ Guado al Tasso 2021.
Two reasons this merits strong consideration – firstly 2021 has turned out to be a sensational vintage for red varieties across Tuscany, and this is the case especially at Antinori’s estate in the Bolgheri region. This is an intense, complex and captivating red that will be outstanding with age. It’s one of the best iterations in recent memory and will perhaps eclipse the 2016 and 2010 in time as possibly one of the very finest vintages in the region and also from this estate.
Tenuta Guado al Tasso is located in the small but prestigious Bolgheri DOC, about 100 kilometres southwest from Florence on the coast of upper Maremma.
Since its inception in 1985, DOC Bolgheri has become an internationally recognised reference point for Italian reds made with international grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and local producers like Tenuta San Guido (Sassicaia), Ornellaia and Guado al Tasso.
The flagship Guado al Tasso red is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and occasionally a small amount of Petit Verdot to best represent the Bolgheri terroir. This wine has been produced since 1990 from vineyards on alluvial soils where composition ranges from clay-sand to clay-loam with rocky deposits know as ‘scheletro’.
The estate is set on a beautiful plain known as the ‘Bolgheri Amphitheatre’ due to its particular shape – the vineyards encircled by hillsides facing towards the coast. The nearby Tyrrhenian sea provides a mild climate with constant breezes that mitigate summer heat and alleviate harsh winter weather, maintaining a clear sky and a high level of sunlight exposure. These vines are in the optimal position to ripen but also retain freshness thanks to these cold nocturnal sea breezes which cool down the vines.
Guado al Tasso has therefore risen in recent years to quickly become one of Bolgheri’s finest estates, now competing with Sassicaia and Ornellaia in terms of quality and prestige. Guado al Tasso was historically often a rich, opulent and flashy wine but, like Tig, thanks to an increased proportion of Cabernet Franc and winemaking changes in recent vintages, now shows more finesse and elegance.
Do snap up a case while you can; there is definitely value for money here when compared to some of the other big names in Bolgheri and Tuscany.
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