Only one word could describe Tenuta San Guido: legendary. The dreamchild of Marchese Mario Nicolò della Rocchetta (cousin of the Antinoris of Tenuta dell' Ornellaia fame) Tenuta San Guido is the original super Tuscan wine. Wanting to create an Italian fine wine that could rival the ubiquitous Bordeaux, Tenuta San Guido changed the face of Italian fine wine forever.

Faced with a stony, and at first glance, inhospitable soil, della Rochetta noted similarities between his terroir and the gravelly terrain of Graves in Bordeaux. His brainwave was to his plant xx hectares with Cabernet Sauvignon, but this was 1940, the war had hit Italy hard and both manpower and money were scarce. His early vintages were heavy and unliked, not at all the success he had hoped. Almost thirty years of experimentation followed and the first commercial release of Sassicaia (literally meaning stony ground in local dialect) in 1968 was an immediate hit. The rest, as they say, is history.

Under Nicolo, San Guido became the first ever Italian estate to have its own estate DOC in 1994. And, just for good measure, it dramatically transformed the previously unremarkable Bolgheri region into what many believe is the jewel in Italy’s fine wine crown. As the Marchese advances in years, Sebastiano Rosa has begun to take on more and more responsibilities. Rumour has it that he is being groomed for the top job, although he is “confident that it won’t be anytime soon”.

Tenuta San Guido’s Sassicaia is the number one most wanted Italian wine. Named as Wine Spectators Wine of Year in 2018, the 2016 vintage was released in Q1 2019 at €1,470 a case, amid a flurry of high scores; a perfect 100 from Monica Larner of The Wine Advocate, anything with Robert Parker’s seal of approval will undoubtedly grow and grow. Q2 prices already show significant increases, with bottles for sale for as much as €354, or 200% in three months.