Belguardo 2020

Belguardo sits in the Maremma Toscana, the warm coastal stretch of southern Tuscany that the Mazzei family bought in the mid-1990s, facing the Tyrrhenian Sea between Grosseto and Montiano. This is a warm, maritime, sun-rich zone, and the Bordeaux varieties planted here, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, ripen fully to give a deep, structured red. The sea breeze moderates the heat and helps the fruit retain freshness, while the gravel and clay soils build firm tannins and concentration. The wine spends 18 months in French oak barrels, where extended oxygen exchange polymerises and softens the tannins, integrates the fruit and adds a frame of spice, cedar and vanilla suited to a long-lived style. It pours a deep, almost opaque ruby red. The nose is rich and aligned with its warm vintage, leading with blackberry and ripe plum over tobacco, cedar and a touch of dark chocolate. The palate is full bodied and firmly structured, with ripe but substantial tannins, balanced acidity and a long, oak-framed finish. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees and decant an hour ahead. It suits roasted and grilled red meat.