TENUTA SAN GUIDO GUIDALBERTO 2022

Tasting notes:

"Lots of mint with sage and fresh rosemary to the currant and orange character on the nose, as well as some ripe raspberries. The palate is very refined with creamy and crunchy tannins that run the length of the wine. It shows a crunchy and energetic personality. Give it a year or two to come together, but it’s showing brightness for the vintage. Drink after 2027" 94 points, James Suckling

About the wine:

The 2022 vintage was challenging, and not especially generous in quantity, but the grapes from the hillside vineyards were excellent with great balance of total acidity and not excessive alcohol content. For Guidalberto 2022 brought the average age of the vineyards dedicated to its production to 18 years old. The Merlot in the blend imparts a soft elegance and lively notes of fresh fruit that perfectly complement the flair and verticality of Cabernet Sauvignon. Careful sorting of the grapes in the field during harvesting by hand and further selection upon arrival in the cellar using a sorting table.

In the winery, the grapes were destemming and soft pressed to limit the release of tannins and maintain maximum elegance. The alcoholic fermentation was carried out in stainless steels tanks at a controlled temperature followed by macerations for approximately 11-13 days for the Merlot and approximately 15-16 days for the Cabernet Sauvignon. Frequent pumping over, while racking was carried out to a lesser extent than in other vintages, to obtain a greater balance and favour primary aromatic extraction. The malolactic fermentation started spontaneously at the end of October, following which the musts were decanted to eliminate sediments and maintain maximum cleanliness. The musts were then transferred to 225-liter barriques (partly French oak and a small part (5%) of American oak) from the second half of November. The ageing choices were made to best balance the release of tannins and, at the same time, keep in the foreground the excellent primary and secondary aromas obtained from a great vintage in a good part of the musts.

About the producer:

Guidalberto is one of three wines of Tenuta San Guido, producer of the legendary Sassicaia. 

Guidalberto marks the new millennium: the 2000 vintage appears on the market with less pretense than Sassicaia and with a more approachable drinkability, while showing a great aging potential. It is not intended to follow in the footsteps of Sassicaia, but rather be a wine that shows another expression of the Tenuta San Guido territory. The label depicts the Oratory of San Guido and the wine is named after the family ancestor Guidalberto della Gherardesca, an agricultural pioneer in the Bolgheri area. It was in the first decades of the 1800’s when he built the first factories, and churches, and planned the avenue of cypress trees, the Viale dei Cipressi. These trees were initially used to mark the boundaries between the different crops. Its ornamental value, with the tall cypresses running in double rows, came after that.