GUADO AL TASSO 2021

Description

Antonio Galloni 98 points www.vinous.com (February 2024)
The 2021 Bolgheri Superiore Guado al Tasso is a very beautiful wine, but also quite a departure from the style that made it famous years ago. Readers will find an especially polished Guado al Tasso, a wine that emphasizes finesse more than power. Silky tannins wrap around a core of black cherry fruit, licorice, spice, mocha and new leather. Bright, saline undertones extend the exquisite finish. There’s more Cabernet Franc in the blend these days, and that very much comes through in the wine’s crazy aromatic presence and feel. The 2021 spent 16 months in wood, three months in used French oak barrels during the malolactic fermentation and then 14 months in barrel (80% new) for the rest of its aging. Gorgeous.

Antinori turned out a superb Guado al Tasso in 2021. Like all the Antinori wines these days, Guado al Tasso benefits from a more finessed approach than in the past. Franc features significantly in the 2021, and that comes through in the wine’s aromatic profile and overall feel.

James Buton 96 points (at Windsor, 16 Aug 2024)
There’s a beautiful coolness here, with black and blue fruits mingling with powerful balsam and menthol, sous bois and damp earth. Slick and glossy, vertical and tight, it’s still very tightly coiled and demands time in the bottle. Bright acidity pierces through, and ripe forest berries emerge on the finish. So good.

Monica Larner 95 points www.erobertparker.com (Mars 2024)
The Marchesi Antinori 2021 Bolgheri Superiore Guado al Tasso is 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot and 29% Cabernet Franc from a hot year that also benefited from better underground water reserves because 2020 actually saw quite a bit of rain in Bolgheri and that moisture carried over. This wine is all forward thrust as a result, with a determined mouthfeel pushed over the palate thanks to plummy fruit, baked blackberry and sweet spice. The wine gracefully adds a spot of much-needed minerality that adds to the sensations of freshness. There is even some mint that livens up the mouthfeel.

Marchesi Antinori General Manager Renzo Cotarella tells me that 2021 is the best vintage he has ever overseen. Ever. He prefers it to recent classics like 2016 and 2010. There was frost in the spring, and the growing cycle was very long. This is something that most grapes, and especially Sangiovese, need in order to exhibit aromatic depth and flavor complexity. « This is an exceptional year, » he says, citing the inner energy certainly exhibited by the wines from 2021.