This week Guidalberto 2023 was launched in the UK as a separate wine one month after Sassicaia 2022, a culmination of a long-term strategy to drill home the message that this Left Bank Bordeaux blend from Bolgheri is only a ‘second’ wine at Tenuta San Guido by virtue of its price alone, and nothing more.
It is a reflection of the immense aura that surrounds the iconic Sassicaia that whenever a new vintage is released Priscilla Incisa della Rochetta – the granddaughter of the Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, who first conceived the wine and planted the ‘international’ grapes in Tuscany in the 1940s – reminds the press that Tenuta San Guido makes three wines and not just one.
So, rather than present Guidalberto 2023 as part of a trio, the estate and its importer in the UK, Armit Wines only showed the 'gateway wine' Le Difese 2023 (the only one of San Guido's wines to feature Sangiovese in the blend) alongside the new Sassicaia back in February.
Guidalberto 2023, on the other hand, was launched at an intimate dinner, hosted by Priscilla in London’s Soho district, alongside first-ever vintage 2000 and a fascinating vertical of other vintages. Almost to stress the wine’s individualism a Spanish restaurant was chosen for the launch with French Champagne as an aperitif.
Unique character
Priscilla Incisa della Rochetta launching the Guidalberto 2023, London, March 10, 2025
“It was never intended as a wine that would age for a long time,” says Priscilla checking the russet tones of the 2000 wine in her glass.
“The first vintage of 2000 was to create a new wine to experiment with Merlot and to reach a wider audience. It was to be the type of wine to enjoy young while waiting for Sassicaia to age – we never expected it to last so long!”
One takeaway from the evening was that, tasting the 2008, 2013, 2016, 2021 and 2023 in quick succession, the acidity from the clay-rich silty soils where her father Nicolò planted the Merlot vines in the 1990s have kept all of these wines in remarkable fine fettle.
Guidalberto was always meant to be set apart from Sassicaia – tapping into the then-emerging wine trend of Merlot/ Cab blends, apeing Left Bank Bordeaux in Bolgheri and named after the region’s agricultural pioneer Guidalberto della Gherardesca, the man responsible for the 5km avenue of cypress trees that has become the region’s iconic landmark.
Where Sassicaia is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc (88/12% in 2022) aged for almost two years in predominantly French oak barriques Guidalberto is a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend (55/45% in 2023) aged for half that time.
The oratory at San Guido that is reproduced on the Guidalberto label
Apart from the blend, Guidalberto always stuck out from Sassicaia when the wines were shown to the press alongside each other – Guidalberto is from a younger vintage, and very often it was not in bottle by the time when Sassicaia was first shown (another reason that makes sense for the 2023 to have its own showcase).
If the early vintages of Guidalberto followed a not dissimilar trajectory to its more famous sibling then San Guido is investing in the wine truly achieving its own status.
The distinction will be further emphasised when its bespoke winery is finally completed this summer (Covid delayed construction) with the 2026 harvest earmarked to be the first complete one in the new facility, built as it is on an old brick works on the estate.
The vineyards at San Guido where fruit is sourced for Guidalberto
A focus on keeping back new wines
The impact of the new winery will be felt across all wines of the estate (and not in ways you might expect) this is not about ramping up production of the wine, in fact the opposite is the case, the new winery is tied in with reducing the amount of wine released into the market and working more on library releases, with wines released into the on-trade when they have reached their drinking window.
Bottles of new Sassicaia vintages is to drop by about 10% from 290/300,000 bottles per year to 250,000. Guidalberto will have its output reduced to 280,000 bottles per year (in 2019 there were 430,000 bottles produced) and Le Difese will sit at around 300-320,000 bottles, according to sales director Guido Baldeschi.
“We just don’t have enough older vintages so we will have less production and work on increasing library releases,” he said.
Baldeschi also revealed that, once housed in its own winery, Guidalberto will spend 4-6 months longer in oak and Le Difese 1-2 months more.
This philosophy, not unlike Latour and some top Barolo producers, started with the 2011 expansion of the San Guido cellar and construction of a vault for library releases.
From a customer point of view this is great news to get library wines direct from the estate when they are at optimal drinking (despite the drop in allocation)... given the current problems besetting the fine wine market it also makes good business sense to hold these wines back.
In the past Priscilla told me: “Guidalberto is part of a bigger communication that we are many things apart from just wine. We want people to get to know the whole of Tenuta San Guido so (it is important) to talk about three wines, not to be too aggressive but to be part of a new vision.”
“We have to also generate the message as an importer,” Nicolas Clerc, Armit’s portfolio director added, “That is the challenge to change the profile of Guidalberto that it is a separate wine not a second wine, it has a different fruit source for example, and it will take time for that message to be accepted.”
How was the Guidalberto 2023 tasting?
The two new wines - Guidalberto 2023 and Sassicaia 2022
Guidalberto 2023, IGT Toscana
Cabernet Sauvignon 55% Merlot 45% Alcohol 13.65% pH 3.44 Total acidity 6.12
2023 was a ‘challenging’ growing season with downy mildew affecting flowering and fruit set after a very wet May, resulting in 5% production loss, although, it is to the credit of San Guido’s team of three agronomists and 120 vineyard workers, that damage from mildew was mitigated.
There is nothing challenging about the wine, in fact Guidalberto 2023 was drinking splendidly for such a young wine, and more harmoniously than previous tastings where samples have been hurried to make it on time to the Sassicaia tasting. It has this characteristic wild vivacity to the wine that I love, more red fruit than black, the estate’s early picking and the wide diurnal range of this particular growing season evident in the fresh acidity that stops the wine’s concentration becoming too dense.
It was hard to see the wine’s colour properly in the light (less opaque than normal perhaps?) but the aromas are intoxicating – mulberry, wild bramble, pepper, fresh cedar – the phenolic ripeness of the Cabernet Sauvignon is striking. In the mouth the wine is fresh, structured, but lithe and easy with it. Flavour-wise there’s a nice balance between sweet red fruits and a sour twist of blood orange, garrigue herbs and a distinctive dark chocolate note on the finish, which has an agreeable, finely-textured register on the palate.
Older vintages of Guidalberto
The 2000, 2008, 2013, 2016 and 2021 vintages of Guidalberto were shown along the 2023 for contrast before we finished with Sassicaia 2015 and 2022. The 2013 and 2021 were served from magnum.
The 2000 and 2008 were the last remaining bottles of these two vintages in Armit’s cellar which were generously opened and enjoyed. The 2000 had 10% of Sangiovese in, a blending component which stopped in 2004, after the 2002 launch of Le Difese.
The 2000 was plenty evolved, lambs blood and mushroom notes with sweet tobacco. Impressive enough for 'still standing in the ring' but faded over an hour. The 2008 was energetic and quite the young buck – black fruits, meaty, liquorice with a deep concentration.
The 2013 was one of the first real stars of the show and the first vintage that Clerc believes shows the character and identity of Guidalberto.
When asked what changes head of winemaking Carlo Paoli (appointed in 2009) had made to the winemaking process to increase the freshness in the wine, Priscilla replied “classified”. But changes there have been – Paoli likes to pick at low pH – and this vintage showed so much more depth and complexity.
The 2013 was beautifully evolved with intense, balsamic notes, mixed with sun-dried tomato and fruit cake. The tannins are chewier, chalky, finishing dry with a plum-skin finish. Terrific acidity though, juicy black fruit, light with great finesse. Wonderful.
Whether it was because the 2016 (out of a standard bottle) was sandwiched between the 2013 and the 2021 (both out of magnums) which were both magnificent on the night, the 2016 was a little like the smart kid in class who answers everything correctly but is devoid of real character. It ticked all the boxes – it was well balanced, with nice fruit, well-integrated tannins and acidity but probably needs more time to develop more interest.
Which bring us neatly to the 2021 which simply stole the show. A great vintage for the whole estate and clearly one for Guidalberto. Still young with primary blackberry fruit, black cherry, a floral component, wild mint perhaps, cedar – alluring aromatics all. In the mouth the wine is perfectly balanced with that deep coolness that makes you check the temperature of the glass. Younger tannins for sure but the wine is harmonious, pure, and the closest of all the wines shown to top Left Bank Bordeaux. Simply lovely.
In conclusion
A proud somm. pours the Guidalberto 2023
It was the 2021 vintage of Guidalberto where San Guido decided to launch the wine separately to Sassicaia in order to shift the focus from a comparison with the estate’s older sibling.
At the time Carlo Paoli drilled home this distinction. The wines are “two first wines… a different expression of the same territory.” Guidalberto is younger, has greater tension and a different tannin structure, a completely different blend and different personality.
The 2023 vintage further cements that distinction with great clarity… and drinking pleasure.
For an in-depth analysis of Sassicaia 2022 read Jason Millar’s excellent piece here.
Guidalberto 2023 and all the wines of Tenuta San Guido are imported and sold in the UK through Armit Wines which is a commercial partner of The Buyer. To discover more about them click here.
