Good Friday Special: Antinori Guado Al Tasso 2018 and 2011
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Good Friday Special: Antinori Guado Al Tasso 2018 and 2011
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Wine Advocate (95)
Forever the superstar, the 2011 Bolgheri Superiore Guado al Tasso is a delicious wine that never holds back in terms of intensity and seamless integration. Every detail has been finessed. The blend is 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Each vineyard parcel is fermented separately to maintain varietal identity. The wine’s appearance is dark and luscious with thick extraction and a vibrant dark garnet hue. Generous aromas of dark fruit, tobacco and chocolate lift steadily from the glass. The mouthfeel is soft and yielding with a great sense of tannic persistency that holds up the finish, which can be counted in many long minutes. Give this wine five years or more to fully evolve.Inc. VAT£811.24 -
Wine Advocate (96)
Renzo Cotarella, managing director of Marchesi Antinori tells me that the 2018 vintage showed very different results in the inland and hilly Chianti Classico appellation compared to the flat, sea-facing Bolgheri appellation. This season saw some rain right before harvest. That extra humidity rolled right off the Chianti Classico hills and disappeared without effect, but it stuck around longer in the thicker, flatter soils of Guado al Tasso. For this reason, one of the estate's top wines, the Cabernet Franc-based Matarocchio, was not produced in 2018 for fear that the fruit would not offer the concentration required of a wine of that important stature. The best of that fruit was used in this wine instead. For that reason, the 2018 Bolgheri Superiore Guado al Tasso sees a little more Cabernet Franc (clocking in at about 22% of the blend) and less Merlot, with the rest being Cabernet Sauvignon, of course, (at about 60%). To be honest, the percentage of Cabernet Franc has been deliberately creeping up over the years to render a more focused and sharper bouquet. Aromas of dark fruit and freshly milled white pepper replace the more banal cherry-based flavors delivered by the Merlot, and the wine appears more lifted and precise as a result. The Cabernet Sauvignon delivers spice and licorice, and these pretty aromas are likewise given more breathing room, thanks to the counterparts found in the Cabernet Franc. Linearity, sharpness, pencil shavings and dark currant or blackberry—this is the direction Guado al Tasso is taking, and this 2018 vintage opens the door to a new chapter for the wine. Some 115,000 bottles were made.Inc. VAT£651.58
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Wine Advocate (95)
Forever the superstar, the 2011 Bolgheri Superiore Guado al Tasso is a delicious wine that never holds back in terms of intensity and seamless integration. Every detail has been finessed. The blend is 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Each vineyard parcel is fermented separately to maintain varietal identity. The wine’s appearance is dark and luscious with thick extraction and a vibrant dark garnet hue. Generous aromas of dark fruit, tobacco and chocolate lift steadily from the glass. The mouthfeel is soft and yielding with a great sense of tannic persistency that holds up the finish, which can be counted in many long minutes. Give this wine five years or more to fully evolve.In Bond£660.00 -
Wine Advocate (96)
Renzo Cotarella, managing director of Marchesi Antinori tells me that the 2018 vintage showed very different results in the inland and hilly Chianti Classico appellation compared to the flat, sea-facing Bolgheri appellation. This season saw some rain right before harvest. That extra humidity rolled right off the Chianti Classico hills and disappeared without effect, but it stuck around longer in the thicker, flatter soils of Guado al Tasso. For this reason, one of the estate's top wines, the Cabernet Franc-based Matarocchio, was not produced in 2018 for fear that the fruit would not offer the concentration required of a wine of that important stature. The best of that fruit was used in this wine instead. For that reason, the 2018 Bolgheri Superiore Guado al Tasso sees a little more Cabernet Franc (clocking in at about 22% of the blend) and less Merlot, with the rest being Cabernet Sauvignon, of course, (at about 60%). To be honest, the percentage of Cabernet Franc has been deliberately creeping up over the years to render a more focused and sharper bouquet. Aromas of dark fruit and freshly milled white pepper replace the more banal cherry-based flavors delivered by the Merlot, and the wine appears more lifted and precise as a result. The Cabernet Sauvignon delivers spice and licorice, and these pretty aromas are likewise given more breathing room, thanks to the counterparts found in the Cabernet Franc. Linearity, sharpness, pencil shavings and dark currant or blackberry—this is the direction Guado al Tasso is taking, and this 2018 vintage opens the door to a new chapter for the wine. Some 115,000 bottles were made.In Bond£523.00
In a relatively untouched, wild corner of Bolgheri the Guado al Tasso estate has become a star in the Antinori collection (inc. Sassicaia, Solaia & Tignanello). This is a classic Super Tuscan that now stands proudly alongside the region's greatest wines, while still bringing outstanding value in spite of its meteoric rise in quality. Originally a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah, the estate has opted in 2007 to replace Syrah with Cabernet Franc to bring greater elegance to this gem of Bolgheri, a decision that is reaping dividends now given the rising global temperatures. To celebrate the long weekend, we are pleased to offer the Guado Al Tasso 2018 and 2011:
