Tenuta San Guido : Guidalberto 2023

The Tenuta San Guido 2023 Guidalberto comes from a challenging vintage, shaped by heat and rain that brought pressure from downy mildew, particularly affecting early-ripening Merlot. Big efforts were made during selection. Aromatically plump and expressive, the wine shows ripe cherry and blackberry preserves layered over a medium- to full-bodied mouthfeel, with primary fruit rounded by sweet notes of cinnamon. Despite the difficulties of the year, there is appealing freshness on the palate with hints of orange peel and blood orange that lift the fruit, giving the wine energy and balance.

On the nose, the density of blackberries and damp earth is balanced by the clean snap of pencil eraser and wild mint. The palate brings tangy, tart blackberries, black plums and citrus, alongside more wild mint and fennel, while smooth tannins sit back and watch a hot, acidic river carry the finish.

2023 was a very good year for the Cabernets, according to Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta, who added that a very hot start to August made it more difficult for early-ripening Merlot. As a result, Merlot has been reduced in the blend from 60% to 45%. The rich and glossy red berry, blackberry and black cherry fruit is nicely layered with balsamic herbs, damp earth and lovely mid-palate sapidity, with a creamy undertow which leads to a finish of dark chocolate and bitter herbs. Intense but not overtly concentrated, fresh and poised, there's much to love here – although it will require at least another six months to pull together harmoniously.