Antinori - Guado al Tasso : Cont'Ugo 2023

Tasting characteristics and serving suggestions for Cont'Ugo 2023 Antinori - Guado al Tasso

Tasting

Appearance
The color is a remarkably deep ruby red.

Nose
The bouquet highlights ripe red berries, layered with Mediterranean herbal notes and lifted by delicate hints of peat and licorice root.

Palate
Full-bodied on the palate, with silky, refined tannins that provide impressive aromatic and flavor persistence.

Serving and cellaring
Cont'Ugo 2023 is best enjoyed at cellar temperature, between 61 and 64°F (16–18°C). This wine can be cellared through around 2030.

A Tuscan Merlot true to the Bolgheri terroir

The estate
While the history of La Tenuta Guado al Tasso dates back to the late 1600s, it was in the 1930s that the Italian estate underwent major development under the stewardship of the property's heiress, Carlotta Della Gherardesca Antinori, mother of Piero Antinori and sister of the wife of Mario Incisa Della Rocchetta, owner of Tenuta San Guido.

Located within the prestigious Bolgheri DOC, La Tenuta Antinori-Guado al Tasso is a benchmark estate for great Bolgheri Superiore wines, renowned for the quality and elegance of its cuvées.

The vineyard

La Tenuta Antinori-Guado al Tasso cultivates approximately 320 hectares of vines. This coastal terroir benefits from a mild climate, abundant sunshine, and constant breezes that temper both summer heat and winter cold. The vineyards are rooted in the region’s typical alluvial soils, ranging from clay-sandy to clay-loam and rich in fine gravel, a typicity that imparts distinctive character and aromatic complexity to the wines.

The wine

Cont'Ugo d’Antinori - Guado al Tasso is a Bolgheri wine crafted exclusively from vineyards planted on silt- and clay-based soils.

The vintage
2023 began with a mild, dry winter, followed by early budbreak on March 20. Spring brought moderate rainfall that required careful canopy management. July featured dry heat, ideal for veraison. From August 20 to 25, exceptionally hot, dry northerly winds caused slight dehydration in exposed plots. In late August, Atlantic fronts restored balance with showers and cooler temperatures. September delivered sunny, dry conditions that ensured even ripening and outstanding fruit quality.

Winemaking and aging
The Merlot for Cont'Ugo 2023 was hand-harvested from September 6 to 18, yielding healthy, perfectly ripe grapes after double sorting. Fermentation and maceration lasted about 20 days in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Fermentation temperatures were initially set to 77°F (25°C) to preserve aromatics, then raised to 86°F (30°C) to optimize phenolic and structural extraction. Each lot was vinified separately before malolactic fermentation in barrels, completed at the end of 2023. After selecting and blending the best cuvées, the wine was aged a further 12 months in second-fill barrels.

Grape variety
100% Merlot