Tenuta San Guido

Indeed, there are great vintages that produce iconic wines, difficult vintages that yield rather mediocre results accordingly, and in rare cases, underestimated vintages that ultimately and surprisingly exceed all expectations. The 2023 vintage at Tenuta San Guido is one such example. The wine's greatness was not predetermined but rather based on the right decisions and the meticulous quality work of Carlo Paoli's team. The winter was initially cold, March brought warmth and humidity, and there was massive fungal pressure. In early April, late frosts hit the vineyards, and according to Carlo Paoli, he was still walking through the vineyards in a knitted sweater until June 12th, which is unusual for the Maremma. After that, rising humidity and temperatures created ideal conditions for downy mildew. July and August then saw a period of extreme heat, which, however, was significantly shorter than in 2022, so it helped rather than harmed. The fact that the quality of a vintage is ultimately decided in autumn was again demonstrated in 2023. Dry, warm weather led to perfect phenolic and physiological ripeness, allowing for the harvesting of compact, crisp, yet loose-berried grapes.

To describe "Sassicaia" simply as a particularly successful wine would be an understatement. It is nothing short of an icon in the wine world and a testament to the consistent work of a winery that founded an entire era. The first vintage of the wine was produced in 1945 by Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, the founder of "Sassicaia." However, the first released vintage was the 1968. All previous wines were consumed privately. Mario Incisa della Rocchetta had developed a passion for Bordeaux wines and attempted to produce a similar wine at Tenuta San Guido in Bolgheri. He considered the clay soils, interspersed with stones ("sassi"), to be very suitable and planted Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

It was ultimately Mario's son Nicolò, who, together with Mario's nephew Piero Antinori and his winemaker Giacomo Tachis, convinced him to bottle the first official "Sassicaia." The rest is history: along with "Tignanello," the wine transformed Italian viticulture. It was the first so-called "Super Tuscan" to combine Bordeaux grape varieties and Bordeaux-style aging in barriques with the terroir of Bolgheri. It came from a region where wines were then already bottled in December and drunk in January. Italy was not present on international wine lists at that time. This wine decisively changed all of that.

And while it has remained a beacon of the region in its unique typicality, shining even brighter today despite fierce competition, much has changed at Tenuta to adapt the wine's style to new climatic conditions. The winery is at the forefront of sustainable practices to continue delighting the world with wines like the 2023 "Sassicaia" in the future!