Collection: Tenuta San Guido

The Incisa della Rocchetta family are an institution in Italy, the Marchesi of which are very much protagonists within Italian history, with one Marchesi in particular, Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, playing a lead role in the story of Tenuta San Guido.

Mario, born in Rome, had two distinct passions in life: horses and agriculture. His love of breeding and riding horses was born out of his service in the cavalry during the First World War. On returning from the War, he brought his horse with him to Pisa, where he ignited his second passion, studying in the faculty of Agriculture. After meeting and marrying his wife Clarice in Pisa, they moved in the early 1940’s to Maremma, where Clarice had inherited land on the hills of Bolgheri.  It wasn’t long after they moved that they realised just how exceptional the biotype of the region was.

Mario discovered the soils of the Bolgheri hills to share many similarities with that of Bordeaux’s Graves. Having grown up with easy access to Bordeaux wines and the ability to visit and spend time at Chateau Mouton Rothschild, learning the finest winemaking techniques from one of the highest ranked producers in the region, the value of these similarities was not lost on Mario. This stroke of luck was not the only event justifying the lucky star adorning the bottle of all San Guido’s wines today. It was this fortunate similarity of the regions’ stone, or ‘sasso’ in Italian, that the producer’s flagship wine Sassicaia was eventually named after.

Originally strictly reserved for family and friends, Mario’s production of Sassicaia under the Tenuta San Guido brand began in 1945. After collaborating with oenologist Giacomo Tachis in the late 1960s, they began to realise the potential of the wines, tasting back vintages that had developed and improved with time, and pressing on with new growing methods. Whilst developing the winery itself, good luck struck San Guido once more, as is expressed by Mario’s son Nicolò; “Speaking of our experience, we can say that we have been lucky in the last century. Tenuta San Guido managed to survive during the Second World War, the agricultural activities were not disrupted. This is an encouraging example of how, with passion and perseverance, even in hard times, extraordinary things can be done”.

The first commercial release of the wine happened in 1968, and it transformed the landscape of Tuscan wines, quickly garnering the title of the first ‘Super Tuscan’ wine, a term now used to describe some of the most innovative and superlative red wines from the Tuscany region.

San Guido’s second wine Guidalberto came to fruition in 2000, named after Mario’s great, great grandfather Guidalberto della Gherasdesca, a pioneer of modern agriculture, famed for having planted the cypress alley that inspired the poet Giosuè Carducci. This second wine was not meant to follow in the footsteps of Sassicaia, but rather to demonstrate another expression of the region. It embraces a younger style, and explores the sweetness and fragrance Merlot has to offer, even at a young age.

As the producer’s general manager Carlo Paoli puts it best, “It has a satisfying drinkability, with its own personality different from Sassicaia, but similar in flavour and elegance. Its complexity and structure determine its great potential for ageing and refinement over a long period of time.” Although varying in price points, the Sassicaia and the Guidalberto are both stunning examples of Bordeaux style Tuscan blends utilizing the stony terroir of the Bolgheri hills.

Perhaps the only stroke of bad luck faced by San Guido was Mario sadly not living to see his Sassicaia creation become the only single estate wine in Italy with its own appellation D.O.C in 2013, a recognition awarded only to the top estates in the world. Today, Mario’s legacy is carried on by his son Nicolò, also a passionate winemaker who’s pride in the brand’s history is clear.

At Cult & Boutique we are delighted to stock Tenuta San Guido’s Guidalberto, giving our customers a chance to fully explore the unique Bolgheri terroir, and the depth of flavour isn’t grapes carry. To explore this and our other Tenuta San Guido offerings, see below.