Antinori Tenuta Guado al Tasso Bolgheri Superiore 2021

This is the Bolgheri Superiore from Marchesi Antinori, drawn from Tenuta Guado al Tasso on the Tuscan coast, a family that has made wine in Tuscany for more than six hundred years and helped establish the Super Tuscan style. The Superiore designation requires longer ageing and greater concentration than standard Bolgheri. It blends Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot, the classic Bordeaux varieties that thrive on the appellation's gravel and clay, where free-draining soils and warm maritime air ripen Cabernet fully while sea breezes preserve acidity. The wine ages eighteen months in barrel, the extended time in wood polishing firm tannins and adding cedar, vanilla and woodspice through slow oxygen exchange. The colour is deep red. The nose shows dark fruits, plum and blackberry, with tobacco, graphite and cedar. The palate is full and structured, the tannins firm but ripe, closing long and savoury. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees and decant an hour ahead, or cellar it further. It suits roast beef, rack of lamb and mature hard cheese.