Tenuta San Guido Guidalberto: 2001-2021 vertical

The first vertical tasting of Guidalberto, Tenuta San Guido’s Merlot-based wine, took place in March 2023 in London, hosted by UK importer Armit Wines alongside Priscilla Incisa della Rochetta from the estate.

Tenuta San Guido is world-famous for Sassicaia, the Cabernet-based blend from Tuscany which was first released onto the market in 1971 with the 1968 vintage, and quickly became one of the world’s most sought-after wines.

In 2000, Tenuta San Guido released the first vintage of Guidalberto. Originally it was intended to be a more affordable and approachable wine, making it more accessible to a wider audience at a much earlier stage in its evolution. That is still the case today, but when the team were tasting some of the earlier vintages at the estate, they discovered that Guidalberto showed a surprising capacity to age.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for eight Guidalberto vintages between 2001 and 2021

The name Guidalberto celebrates an ancestor of the Incisa family, Guidalberto della Gherardesca, who lived in Bolgheri in the early 19th century. He was not only a pioneer in agricultural practices but was also responsible for the planting of the Viale dei Cipressi, the famous 5km-long cypress avenue that has become the symbol of the Bolgheri area.

In the mid-1990s Tenuta San Guido’s owner, Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta, with the technical support of Giacomo Tachis, decided to plant the first Merlot vineyards around Tenuta San Guido’s farmhouse, Podere Alberto, in the stretch of land adjacent to the Viale dei Cipressi. Here, the soil is rich in clay – most suitable for Merlot. The vineyards are about 70-80 metres above sea level and face west, so benefitting from the afternoon and evening sun.

Priscilla Incisa della Rochetta commented that, with Guidalberto, ‘the goal was to experiment with a Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon blend to create a different wine that best expressed the characteristics of Merlot – a wine that needed less ageing to achieve perfect balance and the right drinkability but, equally, that was in perfect union with the estate’s production philosophy.’

When comparing the winemaking processes of Guidalberto and Sassicaia, there are more similarities than differences. The primary fermentation for both takes place using selected estate yeasts, carefully chosen in relation to the vintage and seasonal characteristics. Ageing in barriques is shorter for Guidalberto (15-16 months as opposed to 20-25 months for Sassicaia) and, adding to its individuality, Guidalberto employs a small percentage of American oak as well as the standard French oak.

The company’s third wine, the earlier-drinking Cabernet Sauvignon/ Sangiovese blend, Le Difese, is aged for a much shorter period (six to eight months) in oak barriques previously used for Sassicaia and Guidalberto.

Some may question whether Guidalberto is simply a ‘baby Sassicaia’ but there are some important differences. Guidalberto is a Merlot-based wine and is made from grapes from a different set of vineyards; Sassicaia was created by the vision of Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, whereas Guidalberto is the brainchild of his son, Nicolò.

At Tenuta San Guido, after more than 20 years of careful analysis and experiments, they feel that ‘Guidalberto is today a wine with a clear temperament and distinctive personality. We do not define it as a “baby Sassicaia” or “second wine”. It is rather another wine produced at the estate … related to the other two wines but which provides a different angle from which to approach Tenuta San Guido.’

Vintage comparisons

Having tasted a range of Guidalberto vintages at this London vertical, I feel that the wine is improving even more with recent vintages and, of course, the vineyards are now coming of age. There’s a brightness and transparency of aromas and flavours, and the tannins are becoming ever more refined despite the extremely variable recent vintage conditions.

I found the older wines were interesting in a different way. For this vertical tasting some older vintages had been sourced from private collectors, hence there was a little more bottle variation than if they had come directly from Tenuta San Guido. Of the three oldest vintages, the 2002 suffered most from bottle variation. All three bottles that I tasted seemed a little evolved, but also 2002 was a notoriously difficult and very wet vintage.

Weather conditions in 2001 and 2003 were both warmer and drier, and these two vintages appeared much fresher and more alive, demonstrating mature, tertiary aromas and flavours with great poise, balance and finesse. They are still drinking beautifully.

2008 was a cooler, more classic vintage and a great one for Tenuta San Guido. Despite some bottle variation, the best bottles showed a very beautiful harmony, texture and weight. While the 2013 Sassicaia is a stunning wine, for me the Guidalberto 2013 was a little reticent and didn’t reveal much at this tasting. On the other hand, the hot and very dry 2017 vintage – which was a challenge for most producers in terms of tannin ripeness and finesse – was handled extremely well by Carlo Paoli, director of winemaking, and his team. They have produced a Guidalberto 2017 with lots of polish and refinement.

The vintages that really stood out for me on this showing were the 2015 and the 2021, which seemed to have reached a peak of vibrant aromatic expression while also being sublimely harmonious on the palate. Paoli is reported to rate the 2021 as his best Guidalberto so far, and I must say I have to agree.

Guidalberto 2021 & seven older vintages tasted and rated

Related articles

• First taste: Sassicaia 2020
• Sassicaia masterclass at Decanter’s London Fine Wine Encounter 2022
• Bolgheri 2019: Vintage report plus 50 top wines