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Tenuta San Guido Estate

 

Profile

In 1978 a tasting was organized for Decanter Magazine by three luminary wine critics and Masters of Wine; Hugh Johnson, Serena Sutcliffe and Clive Coates. The goal was no less a task than to decide the best Cabernet Sauvignon in the world. From a shortlist of 33 wines from 11 countries, it was not France that carried the honours, but rather a wine from Italy, Sassicaia, from the Tenuta San Guido estate in Bolgheri, south of Pisa in Tuscany.

Today, Sassicaia is a wine of international renown. It is recognized to be the founding father of the “Super Tuscan” movement and to have put the region of Bolgheri on the wine world map. However, the story of the San Guido estate, and of its most famous wine creation, began well before the Decanter triumph.

 

The Estate

Tenuta San Guido is one of the great estates of Italy. Smaller today than once it was, it extends over 5,000 acres, of which about 150 are planted with vines. Unusually in the wine world, where iconic stars are most commonly the product of singular minds and a focus only on making wine, the Tenuta San Guido estate has a number of activities completely unrelated to wine. The link between them and wine making is the remarkable Nicolò Incisa Della Rocchetta, the current owner of the estate. Modest to a fault, it is his quiet determination, building on his father’s pioneering decision to plant Cabernet Sauvignon where all around said it would fail, that has seen Sassicaia achieve the fame and recognition it deserves.

This historic estate came to Nicolò through his mother, Clarice Della Gheradesca, whose family has owned land here since 1800. A magnificent avenue of Cypress trees, which lines the road for three miles from San Guido itself up the hill to the village of Bolgheri, was planted by Guidalberto Della Gheradesca at the beginning of the 1800s. It is now a famous landmark, protected by law as part of the landscape.

Traditionally, the family only made wine for the consumption of relations, friends and local people but Nicolò’s father Mario, who came from Piedmont, was a great wine lover, particularly of the best Bordeaux wines. Mario decided to make his own wine on the estate, which until then had only been famous for the breeding of racehorses and the production of tulips. The Antinoris were cousins and there may also, perhaps, have been an element of competition involved. One thing led to another and the Incisa Della Rocchetta family launched Sassicaia onto the open market with the 1968 vintage. Only six hundredcases were produced, marketed by the Antinoris.

It was after completing his studies in Geneva that Nicolò became involved in the estate. Initially he was not permitted by his father to have anything to do with the wine because Mario feared that he would spoil things. A fascinating but domineering man, Mario must initially have been a difficult man to follow but the worldwide recognition enjoyed by Sassicaia today speaks eloquently of Nicolò’s success.

 

The Vines

The first vineyard was planted on the estate in the early 1940s near Castiglioncello, the Incisa Della Rochetta fortress which dominates the local landscape, with grafts of Cabernet Sauvignon purchased from Château Lafite. The site was selected because of its perfect microclimate and the shelter from the sea breezes provided by the castle. The vineyard carries the name of the castle, and as each subsequent vineyard has been planted, it has been named after a nearby farmhouse or landmark. Eighty per cent of the vineyards enjoy a south-westerly exposure, and are planted at an altitude of between 250-300 feet above sea level; with the remainder further into the hills at an altitude of between 500-600 feet, seven miles inland. The opportunity to use the different styles that emerge from the various altitudes (and sites) at blending gives Sassicaia a significant edge over would be imitators.

 

Harvesting and Vinification

Harvesting is all done by hand and with a low yield of 5-6 tonnes of grapes per hectare, to ensure that each vine produces fruit rich in sugar, tannins, and potential extract. The original Sassicaia winery was located in Castiglioncello, the highest point of the estate. However, as demand for the wine increased, the winery needed to expand, and a new site was found, at the western end of the Cypress avenue, opposite the small church of San Guido. Vinification takes place in stainless steel vats with maceration normally lasting for around 14 days. Small French oak barriques, of which a third are renewed each year, are used to age the wine for 20 months. The wine is then aged in bottle, in the Tenuta San Guido cellars, for 6 months before being released for sale.

Both regions share similarities in their climate and terroir, with the combination of sun, sea, soil and wind which are perfect for Cabernet. The addition of the human elements, firstly of the great Tuscan oenologist Giacomo Tachis and more recently, Sebastiano Rosa, has allowed the uniqueness and potential to be realised.