Not only does the winery consider 2021 the best Guidalberto ever – and a wine to proudly stand beside (not behind) their Sassicaia…so do the critics.
The most thorough explanation is from Master of Wine Greg Sherwood, who says:
Tenuta San Guido’s director of winemaking, Carlo Paoli, is on record for saying that he thought the Guidalberto 2021 was the finest vintage ever produced. So after tasting and reviewing the newly released Sassicaia 2021 recently, I decided to pull a bottle of the Guidalberto 2021 out the cellar and see how it’s looking after an extra year in bottle.
The oak and vanilla wood spice is still busy integrating with the super taut, tight palate fruit intensity, perhaps at a slightly slower pace than in a riper, warmer vintage. But it’s the palate’s chiselled focus and linearity that marks this vintage as a true stand out expression amongst more recent dryer, warmer years. The texture is laser focused but also wonderfully transparent showing the true mineral terroir characteristics of Bolgheri together with a wonderfully fresh, tart, glassy acidity supported by sleek, polished marble tannins on a pithy cherry cola packed finish. A vintage to be truly celebrated but also one best to bury in the cellar for an another 8 to 10+ years.
He rates it 95 points – on a par with many previous Sassicaias.
