Tenuta San Guido is located on the Etruscan coast between Livorno and Grosseto. San Guido can be considered one of Italy's iconic wineries, as this is where the famous "Sassicaia" - probably the most internationally renowned Italian export in red wine form - was and is produced.
In the 1920s, Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, a student in Pisa, dreamed of creating a wine "that had the same unmistakable bouquet of an old Bordeaux"
The basis had to be Cabernet Sauvignon. The reason for planting this variety at Tenuta San Guido was the gravel soil, which bears a strong resemblance to that of Graves in Bordeaux.
Until 1967, Sassicaia was not marketed at all, but only drunk at home. On the initiative of his grandson Piero Antinorin, his oenologist Giacomo Tachis and at the urging of his son Nicolo Incisa, della Rocchetta decided to market the wine and produce larger quantities. The 1968 became the first vintage in 1970 and did not have to shy away from comparison with the Bordeaux Premier Crus.
In the following years, the cellar was modernised, steel barrels replaced the wooden barrels for fermentation and French barriques were introduced for ageing. The 1985 vintage was awarded 100 points by Robert Parker.
In addition to the Sassicaia, the Tenuta also produces a Merlot-based second wine, Guidalberto. Le Difese is an IGT wine, made from 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Sangiovese.
© Photos: Tenuta San Guido
