Tenuta Guado al Tasso Bolgheri Superiore 2020
Tax included.
Winery: Guado al Tasso
Vintage: 2020
Grape: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Petit Verdot
Drinking window: 2025 - 2045
Region: Bolgheri, Tuscany
Production: 120.000 bottles
THE ITALIAN GRAPE (95)
2020 was a good year all around in Tuscany with some challenges here and there. But the best wines are produced when the grape vines have to struggle a bit to develop, and that is exactly what this vintage reflects. High quality wines have been produced in this vintage despite challenges, including a spring frost, difficult flowering, hot summer, early harvest and lower yields. The Guado al Tasso is one of my personal favorites in Bolgheri and a wine that offers great value for money considering its competition from the region. This is a wine for the cellar, definitely give it some time until 2030. This wine will develop excellently in the future.
ROBERT PARKER (97)
I've been tracking the increasing percentage of Cabernet Franc in the blend of this iconic Tuscan wine. The 2019 Bolgheri Superiore Guado al Tasso is made with 25% Cabernet Franc, with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot. That this heat-resistant grape now makes up a quarter of the blend speaks to how vintners are gearing up to counter climate change. These are intelligent choices, and you can count on this wine to maintain that level of extreme elegance and intensity that it is known for (even when Merlot was a bigger part of the blend). Indeed, this is a new and improved Guado al Tasso with focused aromas of pencil shaving, white pepper and crushed stone that frame a rich core of black fruit. A fluttering of dried mint gives lift and power to the bouquet. This is a beautifully linear and powerful red blend.
JAMES SUCKLING (98)
This has a wild and perfumed nose of dried thyme, sage, blackberries, cocoa, graphite and white and green peppercorns. Then dried flowers. Full-bodied with firm, tight and precise tannins. Vibrant. There’s so much character and structure. A new benchmark for this winery. More cabernet franc than in the past. Best yet? 65% cabernet sauvignon, 25% cabernet franc and 10% merlot.
About the wine
Since 1990, Guado al Tasso estate has crafted a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and occasionally Petit Verdot, reflecting the complexity and elegance of Bolgheri terroir. The vineyards, nestled in alluvial soils with rocky deposits known as "scheletro," benefit from the Bolgheri Amphitheater's unique microclimate, characterized by cool nocturnal breezes. This optimal environment ensures pronounced aromas and perfect ripening of the grapes.
The label shows the Della Gherardesca family symbol. It honors the people who used to own the estate. The estate was owned by the Gherardesca family until 1930 when the Antinori family acquired it. Renowned as a pillar of the DOC Bolgheri, Guado al Tasso epitomizes the essence of "super Tuscans," producing wines with a distinctly Mediterranean character—powerful, elegant, and balanced. Each vintage, varying percentages of grapes, predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with additions of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Syrah, undergo classic Bordeaux-style aging in new barriques for approximately 14 months.
The 2020 growing season in Bolgheri commenced with mild winter conditions and occasional rainfall. A late frost event in March caused minimal damage, primarily affecting younger Cabernet Franc vineyard blocks. This resulted in a slight decrease in yields but did not compromise fruit quality. Spring temperatures rose by mid-April, facilitating normal flowering and fruit set by late May to early June. Summer was characterized by hot and dry weather, with no extreme heatwaves. Cooler temperatures and occasional light rain in the fourth week of September provided optimal day-night temperature swings. Harvesting began on September 4th with Merlot, followed by Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon from mid-September to early October.
