If Mario Incisa, creator of Sassicaia, was inspired by his great-uncle Leopoldo Incisa della Rocchetta, then his son Nicolò, director of Tenuta San Guido since forty years, has been motivated by Guidalberto della Gherardesca his great great great grandfather.

The latter, who lived in the early nineteenth century in Bolgheri was a pioneer of modern agriculture, and is famous for having planted the cypress alley that inspired the poet Giosuè Carducci.

Nicolò Incisa explains thus the choice of the name and creation of new wine in 2000: "The wine was created for two reasons: first of all, the desire to see what we could accomplish with Merlot, a grape that we had never used before; second, the desire to offer the consumer a wine which could be appreciated at a younger age compared to our veteran Sassicaia”.

Appelation: Toscana Indicazione Geografica Tipica

First vintage: 2000

Grape blend: 60 % Cabernet Sauvignon 40 % Merlot

Soil composition: Soils have different morphological characteristics with a high incidence of limestone areas rich in clay and stones; they are situated between 100 and 300 meters above the sea level facing South / South-West.

Vine training: Cordon spur system

Planting density: 6.250 vine stocks per Ha

Harvest: Manual harvest that began with the Merlot in the first days of September (about 10 days later than usual) and continued with the Cabernet Sauvignon from mid-September to the first week of October.

Wine making: The very gentle crushing and de-stemming of the clusters of grapes was followed by fermentation in temperature controlled stainless steel vats (between 30° - 31° C, only using the vineyard’s native yeast). The maceration on the skins lasted 10 to 11 days for Merlot and lasted 10 to 14 days for Cabernet Sauvignon. It was followed by pumpovers of the musts and délestages in order to soften the wine tannins. The malolactic fermentation also took place in stainless steel vats.

Ageing time: Following the malolactic fermentation the wine was aged 15 months in French and partially American oak barrels. It is released on the market after an additional few months of ageing in the bottle.