Sappy, juicy red fruit bursts from the glass, joined by dark chocolate, espresso, roasted game, toasted tobacco, and spice box; now with almost two decades of maturity, tertiary notes of truffle and forest floor have joined the mix. Caressing, opulent, even decadent, the ’00 Guado al Tasso is pure pleasure to drink, and its remarkable freshness provides a seductive counterpart to its mellow tannins and distinct minerality. A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and the remaining 10% Syrah with a mix of other red grape varieties, the 2000 Guado al Tasso is a stylish Bordeaux-style blend. Antinori ferments each parcel separately, blending the mix after a year of aging; after blending, the wine ages for six months in barrique before bottling.
- Country: Italy
- Region: Toscana
- Subregion: Toscana IGT
Some nurture particularly close family ties, and a business serves as a traditional medium for honoring one’s heritage. With respect to the Antinori and della Rocchetta families, however, viticultural genius truly seems to run in the family, rendering their Bolgheri triptych—Tenuta San Guido (Sassicaia: Mario Incisa della Rocchetta); Tenuta dell’Ornellaia (Ornellaia & Masseto: Lodovico Antinori); and Guado al Tasso (Guado al Tasso: Piero Antinori) a powerful evocation of a wine dynasty. While Piero was technically the last of the family to enter Bolgheri’s Maremma, Guado al Tasso formally established his claim to the Maremma, as it was founded upon land inherited by his mother, Carlotta della Gherardesca Antinori, whose family had a long-standing presence in the region. It is also significant to note that Sassicaia, the premiere Super-Tuscan, effectually served as the philosophical foundation of Antinori’s Tignanello, as brothers Piero and Lodovico (prior to their split [in 1985]), sent Giacomo Tachis to direct the vinification of Sassicaia. Their experience directly informed Tignanello’s conception, validating the application of the Bordeaux model to Italian wine.
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