Tenuta San Guido Le Difese Toscana IGT 2019
The stunning 2019 bottling of Tenuta San Guido’s Le Difese is a powerful little wine with loads of blue fruits framing that earthy Cab Sauv aroma. Hints of tobacco and pine garden herbs linger in the folds of this multilayered, brooding delight. Superbly balanced, perfectly integrated, and wonderfully structured, the 2019 Le Difese over-delivers on its modest price point.
About Tenuta San Guido
Sassicaia is arguably Italy’s most famous bottle of wine, and its maker, Tenuta San Guido, is Italian wine aristocracy. Sassicaia and its Super-Tuscan revolution changed the face of Italian wine — and it catapulted Tenuta San Guido into the highest echelon of wine producers. Today, Marchese Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta continues in his father’s footsteps even as he prepares to hand over San Guido estate to his son, Sebastian Rosa. Over the years, Tenuta San Guido expanded its vineyards to encompass 190 acres, planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, and the estate expanded its lineup to include “second” wine Guidalberto and entry-level Le Difese. Debuting with the 2000 vintage, Guidalberto holds fast to its ideal of accessibility upon release, but over the years, it has grown more refined, polished, and elegant. Le Difese, debuting with the 2003 vintage, does the work of the estate’s “everyday” wine, but when Tenuta San Guido makes it, the “everyday” wine is still a reason to celebrate. Tenuta San Guido’s outstanding Guidalberto and Le Difese bottlings add even more luster to Italy’s premier Super-Tuscan estate.
About Bartolo Mascarello
Bartolo Mascarello was an intractable defender of traditional Barolo, the “last of the Mohicans,” in his words. Bartolo made Barolos that... gorgeously embodied their vintage and their terroir, and these supple, powerful, and nuanced wines have captivated their fans for generations. Since Bartolo’s passing in 2005, his daughter Maria Teresa Mascarello has helmed the cantina at 15 Via Roma, the legendary site of the Bartolo Mascarello estate since its founding in 1918, and under her leadership, Mascarello’s Barolo, Dolcetto, and Barbera have grown even finer, subtler, more detailed, and spellbinding. While the Mascarello estate sports enviable holdings in Cannubi, San Lorenzo and Rué, located in the commune of Barolo, as well as in La Morra’s Rocche in the commune of La Morra, it still has never released a cru wine. Blending, Bartolo believed, provided balance, especially in challenging vintages. Maria Teresa sees no reason to change her father’s ways (or those of his father, and his before him). After all, there’s no improving upon perfection.About Poderi Aldo Conterno
Poderi Aldo Conterno rose to fame by crafting some of the best-known, best-loved cru Barolo expressions in its Barolo Romirasco, Colonnello, and... Cicala, as well as its Chardonnay Bussiador and its Quartetto, a red wine that blends Nebbiolo with international grapes. In 1969, Aldo Conterno famously parted ways with his brother at their father’s estate, Giacomo Conterno, and founded Poderi Aldo Conterno in the “Favot” cellar on 61 acres in Bussia of Monforte d'Alba, the heart of Barolo country. Aldo’s vision was to craft wines that blended traditional structure, grace, and longevity with exquisitely transparent terroir, seductive juiciness, and a clearly defined personality. Before his death in 2012, Aldo achieved all this and more, creating a winemaking legacy that set him apart as one of the world’s greatest winemakers. The Aldo Conterno estate continues Aldo’s remarkable winemaking work in the hands of his three sons, Franco, Stefano, and Giacomo.No account yet?
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