Tenuta San Guido, Le Difese 2019

The carefully selected grape bunches are destemmed, after which the berries are softly pressed. Primary fermentation takes place in stainless steel vats at a controlled temperature without the addition of external yeasts. Maceration on the skins lasts for 12-15 days for Cabernet Sauvignon and for about 15-18 days for Sangiovese, with subsequent phases of pumping over and delestage to soften and refine the tannins. Malolactic fermentation is carried out in steel.
The wine is aged for about 8 months in third-use French oak barriques, previously used for Sassicaia.

Tenuta San Guido is a legendary estate located in Tuscany in the Bolgheri area and extends between the coast and the rolling hills of the Maremma. The vineyards are planted up on those hills and have even been given their own DOC – Bolgheri Sassicaia, the first, and so far only case in Italy of a DOC contained in a single estate.

Its name derives from the Saint Guido della Gherardesca, who was the ancestor of Count Giuseppe della Gherardesca, who founded the estate in the early 20th century. But Sassicaia history began when Marquis Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, the Count’s son-in-law, decided in the 1940s to fulfil his dream of producing a Bordeaux-style wine and planted some Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

Sassicaia was first produced in 1948 but was not on the market until the 1968 vintage, which also marked the beginning of the collaboration with oenologist Giacomo Tachis. The wine was met with much perplexity, but in a few years it achieved international acclaim as one of the best red wines in the world.

Tenuta San Guido has been managed since 1983 by Mario's son, Nicolo, who contributed to increasing the prestige of Sassicaia and also created other great wines: Guidalberto in 2000, and Le Difese in 2002 – names that are a must for all lovers of great red wines.

He now leads the estate together with his daughter Priscilla and her cousins.