Tenuta San Guido Guidalberto 2024

Guidalberto 2024, the Tuscan spirit in balance

I recommend the Guidalberto 2024 for its blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, aged fifteen months in barrel: two markers that draw a Tuscan red in the Bordeaux style. It comes from Tenuta San Guido, the estate associated with Sassicaia, but asserts its own personality with fruit from young vines. The available information does not detail its aromas or its color; I therefore prefer to stick to what is known about its origin and its making.

The Maremma, the vineyards and Tenuta San Guido

Tenuta San Guido spreads over 2,500 hectares in the Maremma, in Tuscany, near Lazio. The Incisa della Rocchetta family produces there notably the Sassicaia, first conceived for private consumption before being shared more widely. The Guidalberto is described as its "little brother": a Tuscan red wine that follows the same production processes, from younger vines. It carries the IGP Toscana designation.

The 2024 vintage blends 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. The plots destined for the Guidalberto lie between 100 and 300 meters of altitude, on gravelly soils, partly clay, comparable to those of the Médoc. The temperate climate receives the influence of sea breezes; the grapes are harvested by hand, late. In the cellar, the bunches are sorted by hand, destemmed, then gently crushed. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks, with indigenous yeasts, at a temperature controlled between 26 and 28 °C, and a maceration of about two weeks. The wine is then aged fifteen months in French oak barrels; the winemaking description specifies that a small share of American oak is also used.

For tasting, the information provided deliberately remains general: it places the wine midway on a scale running from fruity to spicy, and another running from young to oaky. Its body sits slightly above the midpoint of the proposed scale. These markers suggest a profile balanced between fruit, aging and structure, without allowing precise notes of fruit, spice or wood to be asserted. Nor can I honestly describe its color, for lack of information about its appearance. It is therefore mainly the blend, the origin and the fifteen months in barrel that offer keys to approaching it here.

At the table, with red meats

The pairing recommendation mentions red meats. I would serve it at the table with a dish from that family, letting the wine accompany the meal rather than trying to attribute aromas that are absent from the available tasting notes. Its time in wood and its blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot make it a bottle to open to explore an expression of the Maremma shaped by the methods of Tenuta San Guido. If you enjoy Tuscan reds in the Bordeaux style, the Guidalberto 2024 deserves a place at your table.