Antinori Guado al Tasso Bolgheri Superiore 2020

Region and Vineyards

Guado al Tasso is produced in the prestigious Bolgheri DOC appellation in Tuscany’s coastal region, known for creating world-class Bordeaux-style blends. The 2020 vintage began with a mild winter followed by a few spring showers, fostering strong vine health. In March, an unexpected frost affected some young Cabernet Franc blocks, resulting in slightly lower yields but no major quality impact. From April onward, spring weather progressed steadily, leading to excellent flowering and fruit set.

Summer brought warmth and dry conditions without excessive heat, encouraging the grapes to ripen with balanced acidity and deep flavor concentration. By late September, cooler temperatures and intermittent rains added freshness and complexity to the fruit. The harvest started on September 4 with Merlot, followed by Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon through early October, showcasing the full ripeness of each varietal.

Vinification

Guado al Tasso 2020 follows Antinori’s meticulous winemaking approach, ensuring only the finest grapes are selected. Upon arrival at the winery, the fruit is sorted twice: once before destemming and again afterward, allowing only fully ripe berries to proceed to fermentation. Each vineyard parcel is harvested and fermented separately to preserve its unique qualities. Fermentation and maceration occur in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats over 15 to 20 days, ensuring ideal extraction of flavors and tannins.

After primary fermentation, the wine is transferred to French oak barriques for malolactic fermentation, completed by the end of the year. In February, the most promising vineyard parcels are blended and returned to new French oak for further aging, a process that continued until June 2022, when the wine was bottled. This careful aging process enhances the wine’s structure, integrating tannins and flavors seamlessly.

Tasting Notes

• Color: Deep ruby red.
• Aroma: Aromas of dark berry fruits, such as blackberry and plum, are layered with notes of sweet spices, toasted oak, and hints of forest floor.
• Palate: Balanced and refined tannins provide a smooth, lingering mouthfeel, with rich flavors of dark fruits and a touch of earthy complexity. The finish is long and persistent, promising further evolution with age.

Did you know?

Guado al Tasso has been produced since 1990 and is sourced from vineyards planted on alluvial soils that range from clay-sand to clay-loam with rocky deposits. This diverse soil profile, known locally as "scheletro," contributes to the wine’s complex minerality and structure, making it a true reflection of the Bolgheri terroir.

Wine Pairing Ideas

• Bistecca alla Fiorentina: The wine’s bold structure and dark fruit complement the richness of this Tuscan steak, while the refined tannins balance the meat’s tenderness.
• Porcini mushroom risotto: Earthy, savory notes in the wine pair well with the umami flavors of porcini mushrooms, creating a balanced and harmonious experience.
• Aged Parmigiano-Reggiano: The wine’s acidity and tannic structure match the cheese’s nutty, savory profile, enhancing both elements.
• Braised lamb with rosemary and garlic: The wine’s spice and dark fruit harmonize with the lamb’s rich flavors and aromatic herbs.

History of Antinori

In 1385, the Antinori family became part of the wine business when Giovanni di Piero Antinori joined the Florentine Vintner's Guild.

Since 1966, Marchese Piero Antinori, son of Marchese Niccolò, has run the company with his daughters, Albiera, Allegra and Alessia, also playing an active role.

For more than 26 generations now, Antinori's philosophy has been based on the combination of both tradition and innovation: to preserve Italy's enological traditions and to experiment innovation in winemaking, giving each wine tester the pleasure of discovering a unique alliance.

Vineyards

Each of Antinori's vineyards and estates has its own individual character, its own history and its own universe perceived and discovered in the tasting of each of their fine wines.

Antinori's vineyards for red wine are mostly located in Tuscany, in the area of Chianti Classico where it owns three estates, total 575 acres: Tignanello, Pèppoli and Badia a Passignano.

White wine is produced in Umbria in the Orvieto Classico region, at Castello della Sala estate, and in Tuscany at Monteloro estate.

Red wine comes from the Montepulciano, Bolgheri, Montalcino, Castiglione della Pescaia and Sovana areas.

Besides Tuscany and Umbria, Antinori is also present in Lombardy, Piedmont, Apulia, California, Washington State, Hungary and Malta where it produces both red and white wines.

The Tignanello and Solaia Estate - The uniqueness of a land and the history of a great wine

The Tignanello estate is a total of 319 hectares in size of which 127 hectares are planted with vines. In particular, two vineyards are real treasures:

• Solaia: 20 hectares
• Tignanello: 57 hectares

The area is very particular due to the high altitude being over 400 metres above sea level, the vineyards having a southwest exposure to the sun, the microclimate and the soil, which is marine loam based with a rich addition of alberese and galestro rock dating back to the Eocene and Miocene eras.

Viticulture

The growing season here is characterized by hot days and cool nights.

In the early 1970ies, the Tignanello estate was, to some extent, the viticultural research ground for Antinori. Investigations into vine growing concentrated on the improvement of the grapes to obtain a higher concentration and softer tannins. This was achieved through planting density, foliage control and selection of the Cabernet and Sangiovese.

In the oenological field, the goals were to achieve wines with a well-defined character.

This was accomplished by a rigorous selection of the grapes during harvest and when received at the winery, gentle crushing of the grapes with as little stress as possible, and by allowing malolactic fermentation to occur in barrel.

When the first production of Solaia began, more than thirty years ago, the grapes came from a plot of land that was within the larger Tignanello vineyard. The same particular characteristics as the original vineyard, such as the altitude, the soil type and the good exposure to the sun (hence the name Solaia), are also found in a nearby vineyard. This vineyard has been integrated into the original vineyard since 1997.

Currently, the Solaia vineyard is 20 hectares and planted with Cabernet Sauvignon (15 hectares), Cabernet Franc (1 hectare) and Sangiovese (4 hectares) with an average age of 15 years.

The density per hectare varies from a minimum of 5,500 to a maximum of 7,200 and the low-spurred cordon training system is used. Over the years, there has been a progressive renewal of the Solaia vineyard. This has been accomplished by utilizing the many years of knowledge and ever-increasing experience of the estate's land to highlight the personality of Solaia.