Wine Reviews
This dark garnet colored Cabernet Sauvignon based blend from Tenuta San Guido is a classic Italian styled wine. It opens with a musty cedar, cinnamon, and clove blend with hints of red cherry and menthol. On the palate, this wine is medium plus bodied with medium plus acidity. The mouthfeel is balanced, round and supple. There is also some nice tension as well. The flavor profile is a cedar influenced tart cherry with notes of loam, black tea, and black olive. I also detected some hints of cinnamon stick, crispy bacon, and tobacco leaf towards the very end. The finish is dry, and its flavors, acidity and managed moderate tannins are nicely sustained
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.
Lots of mint with sage and fresh rosemary to the currant and orange character on the nose, as well as some ripe raspberries. The palate is very refined with creamy and crunchy tannins that run the length of the wine. It shows a crunchy and energetic personality. Give it a year or two to come together, but it’s showing brightness for the vintage.
Displaying a deep, nearly opaque purple color, the 2021 Guidalberto is fleshy, seductive, and impressively aromatic at this youthful stage, with a floral perfume of crushed violets, boysenberry, and graphite. Composed of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Merlot, it’s one of the most expressive releases of this wine I’ve tasted. Full-bodied, with a bright lift of acidity, it has ripe, tight-grained tannins and a well-coiled structure. As it opens in the glass, it starts to reveal more earth notes with turned soil. It’s a shame to open this wine early, as it offers very impressive structure and will really start to show at its best 2-3 years after its release. The 21st release of this cuvée (the first vintage was in 2000), 2021 was a fantastic vintage for the region and this wine.
The 2021 Guidalberto, San Guido’s blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, is soft, succulent and alluring right out of the gate. The supple contours of Merlot lend fleshiness to this mid-weight, racy Maremma blend. Ripe red cherry fruit, spice, leather and tobacco are nicely pushed forward. Best of all, the 2021 will drink well right out of the gate.
