Tenuta Guado al Tasso
Tenuta Guado al Tasso has belonged to the Antinori family since 1931 and is the largest winery in the Bolgheri appellation.
The Marchesi Antinori have been part of the Tuscan aristocracy for 26 generations. It is customary there to marry among one's own kind and so Niccolò Antinori married Carlotta della Gherardesca in 1931. At the time, the della Gherardesca owned an estate in Bolgheri, which included more than 1,000 hectares in the northern Maremma. In addition to Carlotta, the della Gherardesca family had a second daughter, who married Mario Incisa della Rocchetta around the same time. The estate was divided into the Tenuta Guado al Tasso and the Tenuta San Guido, where Conte Mario Incisa later planted the vines for the legendary "Sassicaia".
Even then, almost 100 years ago, a not inconsiderable part of the estate was planted with vines, as the noble della Gherardesca family had already started growing grapes in the 17th century. Guido Alberto della Gherardesca (1780 to 1854) in particular was a great wine lover and significantly improved the quality of his wines. Of course, the classic grape varieties of the region were still cultivated at that time.
The real rise of Bolgheri did not take place until the 1970s and is closely linked to the della Rocchetta and Antinori families. In fact, Mario Incisa della Rocchetta was a great fan of Bordeaux wines, had tasted many outstanding wines with his mentor and decided to plant and cultivate Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon as early as the 1940s. This wine was served exclusively at the Tenuta until the late 1960s, when Mario's son Niccolò, his nephew Piero Antinori and his winemaker Giacomo Tachis persuaded him to produce an official wine from the „Sassicaia“. He was the catalyst for the Bolgheri boom and the godfather of the term „Super Tuscan“.
Piero Antinori, who was largely responsible for this fame and created another Super Tuscan with the „Tignanello“, seized the opportunity and planted the vineyards of Guado al Tasso with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and increasingly more Cabernet Franc as well as Petit Verdot and Vermentino in addition to Sangiovese. With 320 hectares of vineyards, Guado al Tasso is the largest winery in the appellation, which was created in 1995. The state-of-the-art cellar is now run by Albiera Antinori and winemaker Renzo Cotarella.
The „Matarocchio Bolgheri Superiore“, a single-varietal Cabernet Franc, and the „Cont'Ugo“, a single-varietal Merlot, have been available since 2007. The „Guado al Tasso Bolgheri Superiore“ is also a cuvée, as is the „Il Bruciato“. There is also the „Scalabrone Bolgheri Rosato“, a highly sought-after rosé, and the „Vermentino Bolgheri“, a summer white wine.
© Images: Tenuta Guado al Tasso
