Tenuta San Guido is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are ...

producer in the

DOC DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to: In film and television * ''Doc'' (2001 TV series), a 2001–2004 PAX series * ''Doc'' (1975 TV series), a 1975–1976 CBS sitcom * "D.O.C." (''Lost''), a television episode * ''Doc'' (film), a 1971 Wester ...

Bolgheri Bolgheri () is a central Italian village and hamlet (''frazione'') of Castagneto Carducci, a municipality (''comune'') in the province of Livorno, Tuscany. in 2011 it had a population of 131. History First mentioned in 1075, in a papal bull b ...

Toscana it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, known as a producer of "Super Tuscan" wine. It produces Sassicaia, a

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

-style red wine. The estate also produces a

second wine Second wine or second label (French: ''Second vin'') is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from '' cuvee'' not selected for use in the ''Grand vin'' or first label. In some cases a third wine or ev ...

, Guidalberto, and a third wine, Le Difese. Tenuta San Guido is member of the Primum Familiae Vini.

History

Tenuta San Guido was established by

marchese A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, who was also co-owner of the race horse Ribot. Considered the seminal " Super Tuscan", the name Sassicaia (

''sasso'' meaning "stone", indicating a stony field) originated in 1948 when first produced by Incisa della Rocchetta using

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Leban ...

vines A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth Habit (biology), habit of trailing or wikt:scandent, scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to ...

and for years only used for family consumption. A story about these vines being sourced from Château Lafite-Rothschild, was dismissed by Mario's son, Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta, as the vineyard was planted from "cuttings from 50-year-old vines from a friend’s estate near

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the city ...

". Though for years Sassicaia remained the marchese’s personal wine, his son Nicolò and nephew Piero Antinori convinced him to release it commercially, starting with the 1968 vintage, which was unveiled in 1971. Initially there were only a few thousand bottles available, but those created a demand for more. Mario Incisa della Rocchetta hired consulting enologist Giacomo Tachis to further refine the wine while increasing production. At a 1978 ''

Decanter A decanter is a vessel that is used to hold the decantation of a liquid (such as wine) which may contain sediment. Decanters, which have a varied shape and design, have been traditionally made from glass or crystal. Their volume is usually equ ...

'' tasting of "great clarets", a panel including Hugh Johnson, Serena Sutcliffe and Clive Coates awarded the 1972 Sassicaia first place over a field of 33 wines from 11 countries. In 1994 Sassicaia was granted its own DOC (Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC), the only wine from a single estate in Italy to enjoy this privilege. Before that, and in similarity to other wines made outside the traditional DOC/DOCG regulations, Sassicaia was classified as an

Indicazione geografica tipica ''Indicazione geografica tipica'' () is the third of four classifications of wine recognized by the government of Italy. Created to recognize the unusually high quality of the class of wines known as Super Tuscans, IGT wines are labeled with the ...

(IGT). Initially it was a

Vino da tavola Table wine (rarely abbreviated TW) is a wine term with two different meanings: a style of wine and a quality level within wine classification. In the United States, the term primarily designates a wine style: an ordinary wine which is not fortif ...

Production

Tenuta San Guido cultivates fruit from several plots around Bolgheri, extending , with a grape variety distribution of 85%

and 15%

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire's Chinon. In addition to being use ...

. The annual production is approximately 180,000 bottles. The second wine, Guidalberto, was introduced in 2000. Its first vintage was composed of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40%

Merlot Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...

and 20%

Sangiovese Sangiovese (, also , , ) is a red Italian wine grape variety that derives its name from the Latin ''sanguis Jovis'', "the blood of Jupiter". Though it is the grape of most of central Italy from Romagna down to Lazio (the most widespread grape i ...

. Newer vintages do not contain any Sangiovese. The wine has an annual production of 150,000 bottles. The most recently added wine, Le Difese, is composed of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Sangiovese, with an annual production of 120,000 bottles.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:San Guido, Tenuta Wineries of Italy Primum Familiae Vini