Winemaker Notes
Il Matarocchio was inspired by the desire to create, at the Guado al Tasso estate, a wine that was the maximum expression both of a single grape variety and a single vineyard plot. Il Matarocchio was born precisely from one of these sites and is a wine of great elegance and depth, one which springs exclusively from its source of origin and from a remarkable vintage such as 2007.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Beautiful aromas of blackcurrants, fresh bay leaves and basil, with just a hint of sandalwood. Medium-bodied with a center-palate of firm, fine tannins. The finish goes on and on. A fantastic single-vineyard cabernet franc. A wine to watch in the future, as many producers in the appellation of Bolgheri transition to cabernet franc. Give it three or four years.
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Vinous
The 2021 Matarocchio, 100% Cabernet Franc, opens with captivating aromatics. A wine of total allure and seduction, the 2021 screams with varietal character. The 2021 will spend at least another year in bottle before being released. It may gain weight over that time, we will see. Today, what impresses most is the wine's energy and intense, saline-infused finish.
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Decanter
Youthful, concentrated and tannic, 2021 Matarocchio shows lots of promise for the future but is too young to fully enjoy now. It's a very balsamic wine, full of menthol and herb aromas alongside precise red and black berries and chocolate from the oak. In the mouth it's super-bright and energetic, with succulent acidity and all that oak showing as a distinct woodiness that will settle down with time. Long and powerful, with vertical shape and lots of structure.
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Wine Spectator
A linear, racy style, this red evokes black currant, black cherry, earth, cedar and iron notes. Its tannins are present yet pliable, while the flavors stretch out on the languid finish. Still a bit tightly wound today. Cabernet Franc. Best from 2027 through 2045.
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.
Cabernet Franc, a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon, is the subtler and more delicate of the Cabernets. Today Cabernet Franc produces outstanding single varietal wines across the wine-producing world. Somm Secret—One of California's best-kept secrets is the Happy Canyon appellation of Santa Barbara. Here Cabernet Franc shines as a single varietal wine or in blends, expressing sumptuous fruit, savory aromas and polished tannins.
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.