The nose shows excellent aromatic finesse and freshness with notes which recall rosemary, mint, red fruit and, lightly, liquorice. Very balanced on the palate, savoury and long, the wine is potent and subtle at the same time, elegant and of great drinking pleasure.
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and occasionally a small amount of Petit Verdot to best represent the complex and elegant terroir found in Bolgheri. This wine has been produced since 1990 from vineyards on alluvial soils whose composition ranges from clay-sand to clay-loam with rocky deposits known as “scheletro”.
The 2012 vintage was, on the whole, warmer than the previous one. The early months of the year were marked by a February snowstorm, a very unusual event for the Tuscan coast. Bud-burst took place quite regularly despite the scarce rainfall during the spring and summer. Early September rainfall, fortunately, pushed the ripening of the grapes forward, assisting the achievement of a high quality crop. The 2012 vintage demonstrated, once again, that the Bolgheri production zone can produce excellent wines even in very hot years: the morphology of the territory and the nearby presence of the sea mitigate high summer temperatures and help prevent vine stress that could compromise ripening and proper balance in the grapes.
Awards
James Suckling 96/100
Wine Advocate 95/100 USA
Falstaff 94/100 Austria
Wine Spectator 95/100 USA
Wine Enthusiast 92/100 USA
The Guado al Tasso estate’s most characteristic geographic feature is the Bolgheri Amphitheater, a beautiful plain encircled by rolling hillsides that faces the Tyrrhenian Sea. The shape of the territory creates a unique microclimate with beneficial temperature fluctuations.
The estate’s vineyards are located at the foot of the amphitheater, an optimal position as cold nocturnal breezes cool down the vines. These particular climatic conditions give the grapes pronounced aromas and guarantee a perfect ripening of the berries.
Guado al Tasso added the Antinori family’s historic family crest on the capsules. Guado al Tasso designed a label with the Della Gherardesca family crest and the initials DG as a tribute to the former estate owners.
Maturation: All the wines went immediately into new French oak barrels where they went through a complete malolactic fermentation by the end of the year. After a year of aging, the finest lots were selected and blended and then went back into barrel for an additional six months of aging. A year in bottle preceded the release.
