Tenuta San Guido : Guidalberto 2022

Made with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, the Tenuta San Guido 2022 Guidalberto gives you a good taste of the same DNA that brings us one of Italy's greatest wines, Sassicaia, but it's offered in a more immediate style here (thanks to the addition of the Merlot). This warm vintage opens to medium-dark concentration and very plump aromas that take you immediately to blackberry and blackcurrant sitting out in the sun at your local farmers market. The wine shows a soft and gentle side with a pretty level of elegance transmitted through the fruit freshness and the light oak spice that is discernible here but delivered with grace.

Guidalberto used to be great value for money, and even though it’s a bit pricier these days, the quality has also improved dramatically in recent vintages as Tenuta San Guido seeks to remove the idea of Guidalberto as a ‘second wine’ by building a dedicated winemaking facility and adjusting the blend. The 2022 is loaded with herbal and sea-breeze scents among bright, tangy berries. On the palate it is saline and precise, with succulence to the concentrated plum and blackberry core, and a graceful weave of tannin and acidity throughout. Sapid and incredibly moreish, with a beautifully ripe red-berry finish, it truly stands on its own.

Guidalberto is made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, sourced from vines located partly inside and partly outside the Sassicaia DOC. A very subtle wine with ripe, charming fruit and a velvety texture. More elegant and refined than in the past.

If Sassicaia is the thoroughbred of the San Guido stable then Guidalberto is the warmblood: athletic, elegant, creative, energetic. A delight to watch, and even better to sip it turns out.