Guado al Tasso - Bolgheri Superiore
97 points - The Wine Advocate
96 points - The Wine Advocate
97 points - The Wine Advocate
98 points - The Wine Advocate
97 points - The Wine Advocate
94 points - The Wine Advocate
96 points - The Wine Advocate
95 points - The Wine Advocate
97 points - The Wine Advocate
94 points - The Wine Advocate
94 points - The Wine Advocate
Guado al Tasso - Bolgheri Superiore
97 points - The Wine Advocate
96 points - The Wine Advocate
97 points - The Wine Advocate
98 points - The Wine Advocate
97 points - The Wine Advocate
94 points - The Wine Advocate
96 points - The Wine Advocate
95 points - The Wine Advocate
97 points - The Wine Advocate
94 points - The Wine Advocate
94 points - The Wine Advocate
Regular price€189.60
€189.60
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I've been tracking the increasing percentage of Cabernet Franc in the blend of this iconic Tuscan wine. The 2019 Bolgheri Superiore Guado al Tasso is made with 25% Cabernet Franc, with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot. That this heat-resistant grape now makes up a quarter of the blend speaks to how vintners are gearing up to counter climate change. These are intelligent choices, and you can count on this wine to maintain that level of extreme elegance and intensity that it is known for (even when Merlot was a bigger part of the blend). Indeed, this is a new and improved Guado al Tasso with focused aromas of pencil shaving, white pepper and crushed stone that frame a rich core of black fruit. A fluttering of dried mint gives lift and power to the bouquet. This is a beautifully linear and powerful red blend.
Aromas of dark fruit and freshly milled white pepper replace the more banal cherry-based flavours 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.
From a warm and sunny vintage that produced darkly concentrated fruit, the Tenuta Guado al Tasso 2017 Bolgheri Superiore Guado al Tasso is a teaser and a super pleaser. This is one flashy wine. This carefully calculated blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc and 15% Merlot pours from the bottle with a beautifully saturated and rich colour. I double-decanted my sample before writing this review, and the wine's aromas showed immediate harmony and intensity. The wine seduces and flirts with all your senses.
This vintage caps many years of study regarding blending: The Merlot is slightly decreased here, and the Cabernet Franc is slowly taking on a more important supporting role. The Petit Verdot that was used as a peppery accent two years ago has now been removed altogether. The results are pliant, seamless, and fluid, and that's the big takeaway here. The wine is bountiful, round, supple, and full-bodied. Unless you are decidedly not a fan of this style, there's nothing not to love. I had anticipated more tightness in terms of possible hot-vintage tannins, but I am very pleased by the general integration of the mouthfeel.
The Guado al Tasso vineyards are located not too far from the sea, at a low elevation of about 60 meters above sea level. The soils are alluvial with a unique mix of limestone clay and sand, with pockets of rocks and are generally known as the Bolgheri Agglomerate.
This stunning vintage of this landmark wine marks a slight adjustment to the blend. The 2016 Bolgheri Superiore Guado Al Tasso is no longer made with Petit Verdot. The blend is now 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and now 20% Cabernet Franc. This small change does not go unnoticed, as this wine is absolutely seamless now—like the finest Asian silk fabric. That profound textural softness and suppleness changes the way the wine smells and tastes, with hints of momentary sweetness that are more tactile than anything else.
Generally speaking, the 2016 vintage offers more elegance (slightly less concentration) and a hair more freshness compared to the 2015 edition. When I tasted this wine, the bouquet was still timid, but it will no doubt become more expressive and open as this beautiful wine continues forward along its aging trajectory.
The 2015 Bolgheri Superiore Guado Al Tasso is another star performer from a vintage that was tailor-made by some higher being specifically for the blended red wines of Tuscany. This mix of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot slides seamlessly right in there with our highest expectations of the iconic vintage.
The wine offers beautiful intensity and purity, yet it also delivers balanced power and lasting persistence. This is a baritone expression from Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast with impenetrable black fruit, chocolate and tobacco followed by rich concentration and tightly knit texture. I tasted this wine next to a barrel sample of the unfinished 2016 vintage. This vintage appears more exuberant and opulent at this early stage. Some 120,000 bottles were made.
The 2014 Bolgheri Superiore Guado Al Tasso offers more excellent surprises from this underdog vintage. Its deep, velvety color stands out first. This is an immensely soft and smooth red blend from the Bolgheri area on the Tuscan Coast. The wine opens to dark fruit aromas with background notes of spice, sweet tobacco and dark cacao. The tannins are refined and smooth with succulent end notes of ripe fruit and blackberry. The wine's texture is thicker and more elaborate than you might initially suspect.
In fact, very little here indicates that 2014 was a cold and difficult vintage. Due to severe fruit selection, production of this wine is down by 30%.
This is a fantastic wine. The 2013 Bolgheri Superiore Guado Al Tasso reveals soaring aromas of dark fruit, plum, blackberry, savory spice, tobacco and leather. The results are seamless, harmonious and generous in intensity. This is the quintessential red blend from Coastal Tuscany (made with 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot) and the 2013 vintage is particularly rooted in a profound sense of place.
I am reminded of the macchia mediterranea, or Mediterranean shrub, that grows so wild and free in this relatively untouched part of Tuscany. This is an excellent wine that shows its winemaking pedigree, but make no mistake: It is a proud Tuscan at heart.
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.
A star on the vast stage that is the Antinori wine empire, the 2010 Bolgheri Superiore Guado al Tasso is a seamless and stunning wine. It’s one of those rare wines that inspires praise and excited conversation from the very second you raise the glass to your nose. The blend is Cabernet Sauvignon (55%) with Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
Baritone aromas of black cherry, black currant, cured meat, sweet spice, Spanish cedar, mocha and wild Mediterranean herbs come together in graceful unity. In the mouth, the wine is exceedingly smooth and decadent with a long velvety trail that softly coats the palate. This is one for the cellar.
The 2009 Bolgheri Superiore Guado al Tasso impresses for its richness and sheer power. Mocha, sweet spices, plums, blackberries and herbs wrap around the palate as this intense wine shows off its pedigree. Layers of flavor build to the deep, intensely satisfying finish. The 2009 is complete and harmonious from the very first taste. In 2009 the blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot.
he 2007 Guado al Tasso screams of Bolgheri. Sweet grilled herbs, mocha, spices and black cherry jam are woven into a generous, expansive frame. There is a wonderful sense of richness and warmth to the fruit that carries through to the round harmonious finish, where clean, minerally notes add freshness. This is simply gorgeous today, but it is young, and the oak needs to integrate.
Still, it is impossible not to admire the 2007 Guado al Tasso. In 2007 Guado al Tasso is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. The late ripening Cabernet Franc, used in place of Syrah for the first time in 2007, adds a measure of freshness that had often been missing in previous vintages.
Type: |
Red |
Country: |
Italy |
Region: |
Tuscany |
Appellation: |
Bolgheri DOC |
Producer: |
Marchesi Antinori |
Grapes/Blend: |
Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot |
ABV: |
14.5% |
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