“Matarocchio” Bolgheri Superiore DOC 2021 · MAGNUM in OWC

Tenuta Guado al Tasso | Antinori | Tuscany
Tenuta Guada al Tasso | Strada Aurelia km 267 | IT 57024 Donoratico

09203421 · 1,5 l · 732,67 €/l · Price (DE) incl. VAT, excl. Shipping5 units available
Limitation of 1 articles per customer

In the 1930s, Carlotta della Gherardesca Antinori inherited – piero Antinori's mother – inherited an estate on the Maremma coast, a few kilometres from the Tyrrhenian Sea. At the time, the land was used for agriculture and the winegrowing tradition in Bolgheri was only just beginning. Carlotta and her husband Niccolò recognised the potential of the amphitheatre: a curved plain framed by hills like a natural cauldron that captures the sea breezes and concentrates the energy of ripening. Today, Tenuta Guado al Tasso extends over 320 hectares in this very amphitheatre – one of the largest estates in the entire appellation in terms of surface area.

Matarocchio is the most selective choice that Guado al Tasso makes. Not all vintages allow it – only when a single parcel of 100% Cabernet Franc has grown under exceptional conditions. The grapes are harvested by hand and selected berry by berry, cold macerated, fermented in French barriques and matured for 18 months. At the end of this ageing process comes the real centrepiece: an elaborate tasting process in which the best barriques are identified and blended into Matarocchio. The others are not added to the great wine. Then a further year of ageing in the bottle. 2021 was a year of rare depth in Bolgheri. A rainy winter had saturated the deep soils – the vines had sufficient moisture throughout the growing year, even in the long, dry summer months. Temperatures remained moderate and ripening was slow and even. Not a year of stress – a year of rest for the vine, which shows Cabernet Franc in its aromatic purity, which is rarely achieved.

Deep, clear ruby red colour. Fresh red berries, cassis, garnet, violets on the nose – elegant and of great precision, backed by herbs, cedar wood and a hint of graphite. An exceptional balance between intensity, fine tannins and freshness on the palate – concentrated and lively at the same time, with a final that lingers long and clear. 2021 is one of the vintages that will go down in the Matarocchio history books. SUPERIORE.DE

"Elegant version of a great Cabernet Franc from the coast: opulent notes of dark berries, chocolate and macchia, then also a lot of character and yet also polish with excellently built tannins, great length. Old nobility in new clothes." Vinum

"Dark, bright, rich ruby red with a hint of violet. Smells noble and rich on the nose, of ripe cassis, elderberries, subtly of warm smoke, underpinned by elegant spicy notes, chocolate powder, complex. On the palate with creamy tannins and clear, dark and slightly balsamic berry fruit, stretches wonderfully across the palate, comes in many layers, powerful, very long, as if from a single mould." Falstaff

"Youthful, concentrated and tannic, 2021 Matarocchio shows lots of promise for the future but is too young to fully enjoy now. It's a very balsamic wine, full of menthol and herb aromas alongside precise red and black berries and chocolate from the oak. In the mouth it's super-bright and energetic, with succulent acidity and all that oak showing as a distinct woodiness that will settle down with time. Long and powerful, with vertical shape and lots of structure." Decanter

"Beautiful aromas of blackcurrants, fresh bay leaves and basil, with just a hint of sandalwood. Medium-bodied with a center-palate of firm, fine tannins. The finish goes on and on. A fantastic single-vineyard cabernet franc. A wine to watch in the future, as many producers in the appellation of Bolgheri transition to cabernet franc. Give it three or four years." James Suckling

"The 2021 Matarocchio, 100% Cabernet Franc, opens with captivating aromatics. A wine of total allure and seduction, the 2021 screams with varietal character. The 2021 will spend at least another year in bottle before being released. It may gain weight over that time, we will see. Today, what impresses most is the wine's energy and intense, saline-infused finish." Vinous