Antinori Guado Al Tasso 2019 (1.5L)

98 WI / 98 JS / 97 WA / 97 VM / 97 JD / 96 WE / 95 WS

#24 Wine Independent Top 25 QPR Collector Wines 2022
#28 James Suckling's Top 100 Italian Wines of 2022
#60 Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 Cellar Selections of 2022

Guado Al Tasso is Marchesi Antinori's super-stylish Bolgheri Superiore Bordeaux blend. In the 2019 the blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc, and 15% Merlot. The color is intense, almost black with a shiny, purple rim. The nose is bright, youthful, open, and brimming with roasted coffee bean notes, with oak, spice, pepper and blackberries. The oak is dominating the aromas right now with rich, dark, exotic sandalwood notes, but there is a fragrance too of mint and wildflowers. Naturally there are plenty of tannins but they are very fine in nature. The 2019 is beautifully composed on the palate with dark licorice flavors, juicy acidity and lingering, savory, silty tannins. What a wonderful texture! It is so silky and seductive, like falling into a bed of soft rose petals. Still very young, it's best to wait 2-3 years. 2024-2042. - Susan Hulme, Wine Independent

This has a wild and perfumed nose of dried thyme, sage, blackberries, cocoa, graphite and white and green peppercorns. Then dried flowers. Full-bodied with firm, tight and precise tannins. Vibrant. There’s so much character and structure. A new benchmark for this winery. More cabernet franc than in the past. Best yet? 65% cabernet sauvignon, 25% cabernet franc and 10% merlot. Try from 2025.—James Suckling

I've been tracking the increasing percentage of Cabernet Franc in the blend of this iconic Tuscan wine. The 2019 Bolgheri Superiore Guado al Tasso is made with 25% Cabernet Franc, with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot. That this heat-resistant grape now makes up a quarter of the blend speaks to how vintners are gearing up to counter climate change. These are intelligent choices, and you can count on this wine to maintain that level of extreme elegance and intensity that it is known for (even when Merlot was a bigger part of the blend). Indeed, this is a new and improved Guado al Tasso with focused aromas of pencil shaving, white pepper and crushed stone that frame a rich core of black fruit. A fluttering of dried mint gives lift and power to the bouquet. This is a beautifully linear and powerful red blend.—Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate

The 2019 Guado al Tasso is a model of total refinement. Deeply pitched spice, mocha and leather nuances meld into a core of plush dark fruit as the 2019 reveals its considerable charms. The aromatics alone are mesmerizing, but the 2019 has so much more to offer. I admire the wine’s balance and allure, both of which it has in spades. Like so many 2019s, Guado al Tasso is a wine more of energy and persistence than volume. Clean, bracing mineral notes linger on the sublime finish. The 2019 spent 18 months in barrel, 90% new—Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

The ample richness of the 2019 Guado al Tasso is balanced with great energy that drives through the core of this wine. Polished, with aromas of black plum, graphite, cedar, and leather, it is ripe and full-bodied, with good tannins and a linear drive but a long finish. This remarkable wine will benefit from cellaring. Drink 2025-2045.--Audrey Frick, Jeb Dunnuck

Cellar Selection. This gorgeous, full-bodied red opens with layers of aromas including camphor, pipe tobacco, oak-driven spice and ripe black-skinned fruit. Boasting structure and finesse, the intense palate delivers ripe black plum, juicy cherry, licorice and menthol framed in ultrarefined tannins and fresh acidity. Drink 2026–2039. KO, Wine Enthusiast

Smooth and opulent, with black currant, blackberry and plum fruit accented by cedar, vanilla and iron notes. Dense and complex, yet accessible, this is balanced and persistent on the lingering aftertaste. Decant now or wait another year or two. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2024 through 2040. 2,000 cases imported. - BS, Wine Spectator