LE DIFESE - Tenuta San Guido 2017
Tenuta San Guido is much better known by the name of its most famous wine: Sassicaia. The estate is located in the Tuscany region of Maremma, Italy, and has its own single-estate DOC appellation (Bolgheri Sassicaia) applied to its flagship wine. Tenuta San Guido also makes Guidalberto and Le Difese from declassified fruit from Sassicaia and other vineyards on the estate; these two wines are classified IGT Toscana. In collaboration with the Santadi Co-op, the estate also owns Agricola Punica in Sardinia.
Tenuta San Guido Le Difese 2017 (“The Tusks”) takes its name from the teeth of the wild boar that roam the Tuscan hills. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (70%) and Sangiovese (30%). Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks and maceration lasts around 10 to 13 days for Cabernet Sauvignon and 13 to 15 days for Sangiovese. It is then aged for 8 months in French and American oak barrels and for another three months in the bottle.
The 2017 vintage was one of the driest years after 2003. However, the alternation of sea breezes during the day and inland winds blowing at night, kept the vines from suffering from stress. The particular microclimate of Bolgheri and Bolgheri Sassicaia is really essential in a vintage like 2017. The climatic trend has influenced production yields which were on average 20% lower than normal. The quality of the fruits was not affected and during the harvest the grapes were perfectly ripe, healthy and homogeneous.
Grape varieties: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Sangiovese