Tenuta San Guido Le Difese IGT 2023

Tenuta San Guido was born from the visionary zeal of Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, a Tuscan landowner whose passion for agriculture and fine wine drove him to experiment with grape varieties that were entirely unconventional in Tuscany at the time. In the early 1940s, Mario recognized that the gravelly, stony soils of his Bolgheri estate bore a striking resemblance to the winegrowing terroirs of Bordeaux, and he took a daring step by planting Cabernet Sauvignon vines where native Italian varieties had always predominated. For years, his Cabernet-based blend—later named Sassicaia—was produced solely for family and close friends, a private expression of his pursuit of excellence in winemaking. It was his son, Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta, who helped transform this passion project into a commercial triumph; by the late 1960s Nicolò persuaded his father to release the 1968 vintage publicly, setting in motion a legacy that redefined not only the estate but the entire Bolgheri region. Over subsequent decades, Nicolò balanced tradition with enterprise, expanding vineyard plantings and refining winemaking techniques, all while safeguarding the family’s heritage and values. Today, Tenuta San Guido remains under the stewardship of the Incisa della Rocchetta family, with successive generations working alongside skilled professionals to steward the estate’s vineyards and wines. Their commitment to craftsmanship, innovation, and continuity has ensured that the estate’s wines, from iconic Sassicaia to second wines like Guidalberto, continue to be revered worldwide. What began as one man’s personal pursuit of a particular “bouquet” has become a defining chapter in the story of modern Italian wine.