Antinori’s Guado al Tasso and Matarocchio

When in 1992 Antinori decided not to produce its flagship Solaia, Tignanello, nor its ‘riserva’ of Chianti Classico due to the terrible harvest in Tuscany, Guado al Tasso was vinified anyway.

There was continued enthusiasm after the first vintage ever produced in 1990, as well as pressure after the 1991 vintage produced too little wine to be bottled. 1992 – despite being labelled as a ‘piccola annata’ (small vintage) – was made possible thanks to Bolgheri’s climate. ‘It’s warmer and more Mediterranean compared to other sub-regions within Tuscany and mostly stabilised by the sea just 5km away,’ explains Renzo Cotarella, CEO of Marchesi Antinori.

This signature effect was demonstrated during two vertical tastings of Guado al Tasso and the extremely rare Matarocchio at the end of August among celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the Bolgheri DOC, commemorated with an exceptional dinner for 750 guests along the tree-lined ‘Viale dei Cipressi’, a Unesco heritage site.

It is here in Bolgheri that the Antinori family spends their summer holidays, an idyllic place that birthed an important part of the contemporary history of SuperTuscans. In the 1970s Piero Antinori stood alongside his cousin Niccolò Incisa della Rocchetta handing out Sassicaia, once a mere ‘vino da tavola’ yet of outstanding quality.

In the ‘80s Piero and his brother Lodovico decided to divide the two different properties which left Guado al Tasso to play the role of the big family estate. Here Antinori planted 320 hectares of vines becoming the biggest estate of the DOC.

Bolgheri’s great potential over the last 25 years is due to two predominant facts: first of all, the majority of the vineyards within the appellation are managed by 3-4 of the most important players of the region. They were able to stick to their guns in poorer vintages steering clear of the temptation of lower prices. Secondly, the definition of SuperTuscan for these wines was useful at the beginning of a such a young DOC, but today the category is becoming slightly too broad for the wines from Bolgheri to be understood property.

The terroir here defines its own identity, turning out Mediterranean-style Bordeaux blends. Vineyards were planted in 1988 with international grape varieties. ‘We came from the production of anemic wines in Tuscany when the market was looking for muscle wines, it was easy to decide on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc,’ explains Cotarella.

Possibly it was easy, certainly it was a revolution for Tuscan wines. If today Bolgheri is one of the more consistent brands in Italy, the basis can be found here. Antinori has always been a constant advocate of fine wines intended as wines with personality and longevity, expressing their soil, grape variety and vintage.

Producers are obsessed by the finesse of the tannins. ‘It’s better to drink a bottle of wine one year too soon, than one hour too late,’ says Cotarella.

Surely if one is searching to find a limit to these wines it may be that they appear too groomed in certain vintages. Guado al Tasso is otherwise a perfect example of balance; from its origins as a ‘hermitagée’ blend in 2001 made up of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah, to its newfound love with Cabernet Franc in 2007 which led to the addition of this grape in the blend.

Matarocchio was launched in 2007 and today Cabernet Franc is becoming one of the flagship grape varieties of Bolgheri due to its fresh ripeness. Guado al Tasso and Matarocchio share a similar refinement in their structure; arguably Guado al Tasso delivers more consistency, while Matarocchio is the more fashionable of the two.

Both show surprisingly great character in the rustic 2011 vintage, a powerful yet emotional year. However, the former seems to be favoured by cooler vintages due to the presence of Merlot in the blend, while the latter is more confident with warmer vintages considering its young vines.

Aldo Fiordelli’s top Guado al Tasso & Matarocchio wines