Winemaker Notes
Guado al Tasso 2022 is an intense ruby red color. The nose opens with floral notes and aromas of red fruit that lead over to hints of sweet spices especially tobacco and licorice root. The palate is silky and savory with outstanding balance and dimension that balance perfectly with the elegant tannic structure. This wine can be enjoyed immediately but has excellent aging potential for the years to come.
Blend: 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Guado Al Tasso has a saturated purple/magenta color and is 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Merlot. The nose shows off ripe primary fruit of fresh blueberries, blackberries, leather, violets, wet stone, and Mediterranean herbs. Full-bodied, it fills the palate but remains fresh and even, with plush, ripe tannins, delicate warming spice, and a long finish. While it has the richness and ripe fruit one comes to expect from this estate, it offers exceptional refinement as well. Drink 2027-2050.
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James Suckling
A complex and restrained wine with classic aromas of straw, cassis and carob and a touch of leaves. The palate is polished and full-bodied with smooth, refined tannins. Chewy in the finish, with refreshing acidity and a toasty Mediterranean aftertaste.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Marchesi Antinori 2022 Bolgheri Superiore Guado al Tasso (a blend of 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Cabernet Franc and 25% Merlot) is an unexpected wine. I was prepared for more overt ripeness but instead was greeted by a delightful mineral note of graphite or lead pencil that gives much needed contouring to this full-bodied Tuscan red. The wine is velvety and richly textured at its core, but it is also seamless with very pleasurable sweetness. All new oak adds hints of vanilla and spice. If you follow this wine, you'll notice that the percentage of Cabernet Franc has been increasing in tiny notches over the years. "Blending is key to achieving balance in a vintage like this," says Marchesi Antinori Managing Director Renzo Cotarella.
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Decanter
Offering a gorgeous aromatic profile of thyme, mint, sage and menthol with ripe dark berries, this is a superb Guado al Tasso. A fresh mouthful of cool and juicy black and blue fruits is emphasised by a streak of salinity before a return of those wonderful Mediterranean herbs. ‘I think 2022 in this moment is more ready than 2021,’ says Marco Ferrarese, winemaker and estate director.
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Tasting Panel
The 2022 Guado al Tasso is laced with hints of plum, espresso, nutmeg, licorice, incense, lavender and dried herbs. Medium in body, with fine persistence and tons of class, Guado al Tasso has a lot to offer. There is a bit of tightness that is a reminder of the challenges of the growing season. A burst of dark fruit, exotic spice and sweet spice punctuates the finale. This is a terrific wine for the year. The blend is 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Cabernet Franc and 25% Merlot. Late-season September rains were especially penalizing for Cabernet Sauvignon, hence the greater presence of Cabernet Franc and Merlot in the blend.
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Wine Spectator
An expressive, polished red, featuring black cherry, blackberry, floral, iron and oak spice aromas and flavors. Fluid and juicy, with refined tannins for support and echoes of fruit and spices on the finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Best from 2028 through 2042.
The Guado al Tasso Estate is located in the prestigious Bolgheri DOC, part of the Tuscan coastal area of Maremma, known for its untamed landscape and unspoiled beauty. Just 60 miles southwest of Florence, it sits on a magnificent plain in the heart of the Bolgheri amphitheater, a natural phenomenon created by hills that embrace the sea and produce a mild and temperate microclimate. Blessed with ample sunshine and constant breezes that take the edge off the summer heat and winter cold, Guado al Tasso is the ideal environment for cultivating healthy vine growth and proper ripening of the estate’s grapes. Inherited from Carlotta della Gherardesca, and revolutionized by Niccoló Antinori, the mother and father of Piero Antinori, Guado al Tasso is a reference point property in the life and history of the family. Here the challenge is to create wines of absolute excellence, always representative of the Bolgheri history, culture, and winemaking traditions.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
An outstanding wine region made famous by Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, who planted Cabernet Sauvignon vines for his own consumption in 1940s on his San Guido estate, and called the resulting wine, Sassicaia. Today the region’s Tuscan reds are based on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which can be made as single varietal wines or blends. The local Sangiovese can make up no more than 50% of the blends. Today Sassicaia has its own DOC designation within the Bogheri DOC appellation.