TENUTA SAN GUIDO Sassicaia, Bolgheri 2020 Double Magnum (300cl) in OWC - VERY LIMITED

Description

This vintage is a triumph, and a testament to what Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc can achieve with perfect terroir and expert hands.

The 2020 vintage can be considered a good one although two seasonal events have caused some critical issues to the harvest. Firstly, the spring frosts and the lowering of temperatures in the first week of April which, for the early ripening varieties Merlot and Cabernet Franc compromised a portion of the primary buds. As a result production developed on secondary (or axillary) buds. This caused a loss of production at around 15% less than in 2019. Fortunately, this phenomenon did not affect the Cabernet Sauvignon. The other difficulty was a very rainy spring.

Summer arrived from mid-June but without excessive heat, which instead increased in the second half of August. The spring rains and the rise in temperature led to an earlier ripening of the grapes which reached maturity at the same time. The efficiency of a fully functioning cellar was therefore decisive and made a difference. At Tenuta San Guido, we were able to make measured macerations, shorter than usual which favoured a non-invasive body allowing for perfect extraction.

The 2020 is very fresh, perhaps with a lower structure than the 2019, but it has been able to develop a beautiful complexity on an organoleptic level, a good acidity and silky, noble tannins. It will not be ready and immediate like the 2019 or 2016 were, but I believe it will be more appreciated in the long/medium ageing, when the tannins, that today may still be a little rough, will have the opportunity to express themselves at their best.

THE WINE ADVOCATE Monica Larner 96 points
“The Tenuta San Guido 2020 Bolgheri Sassicaia speaks to those who seek more voluptuous, opulent, ultimately more accessible wine. This vintage is a precise reflection of Coastal Tuscany, as opposed to a more generic “Tuscan” wine from elsewhere in this large central Italian region. You taste the ripeness and soft fruit weight that comes from a coastal appellation with the specially bright luminosity and warm Mediterranean offshore breezes. Sassicaia from the cool vintages is a famously reticent or withholding wine in its early years, requiring a long lead time before it eases into an ideal drinking window. That’s definitely not the case here. This wine is beautiful and compelling straight out of the gate, showing a lovely mix of dark fruit, oak spice, balanced freshness, textural richness, soft tannins and an expertly contained 14% alcohol content. The wine’s immediate character is what distinguishes this vintage, and I wouldn’t get too fussed about exaggerated cellar ageing ambitions. The wine awards sheer pleasure in its current form with dazzling primary fruit and soaring intensity over the near and medium term.”