GUADO AL TASSO

The 2014 Bolgheri Superiore Guado Al Tasso offers more excellent surprises from this underdog vintage. Its deep, velvety color stands out first. This is an immensely soft and smooth red blend from the Bolgheri area on the Tuscan Coast. The wine opens to dark fruit aromas with background notes of spice, sweet tobacco and dark cacao. The tannins are refined and smooth with succulent end notes of ripe fruit and blackberry. The wine's texture is thicker and more elaborate than you might initially suspect. In fact, very little here indicates that 2014 was a cold and difficult vintage. Due to severe fruit selection, production of this wine is down by 30%. Drinking range: 2018 - 2028 Rating: 93+ Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate (www.robertparker.com) (Sept 2018)

The 2014 vintage was an atypical one for the Bolgheri area, particularly during the course of the summer. The abundant rainfall and the lower than average temperatures during the month of July and part of August required intensive leaf removal and crop thinning to assure afulland proper ripening of the crop. The climate improved after mid-August and became rather mild after mid-September, bringing the growing season - at least partially- back into balance. The 2014 Guado al Tasso is a less structured wine than usual but one with a crisp, savoury finish and a balanced and complex fragrance. The nose shows notes of cherries under spirits, tobacco, candied oranges,and spices. The palate is vibrant, supple,and persistent with a spicy finish and aftertaste. In this vintage it was decided to use a larger percentage of Merlot and to eliminate the Petit Verdot.Winemaker's notes (Sept 2018)