I demand a lot from my wines, especially when they’re north of $40 and close to $50. I’ve always been skeptical about the “second labels” from the Bolgheri producers. Le Volte, Le Serre Nuove, Guido Alberto…. whenever I tried one at the hands of others, I was always unimpressed.
Recently, with Sassicaia soaring close to $200 and wondering if these “seconds” have improved, I ignored the little birdie in my head and grabbed a bottle of their Guido Alberto.
Seconds are second for a reason.
The 2010 Tenuta San Guido – Guido Alberto is a dark violet in the glass with nice reflections of refracted light. If only we could taste with our eyes. The aroma is restrained despite 60 minutes in a decanter. There’s dark plums and slight mineral, but a noticeable green oak aroma. In the mouth, the wine is non-descript and muted. One dimensional dark fruits are medium bodied and uninteresting. There’s no personality here and little resemblance to the vineyards first wine. I was hoping for a scaled down version of Sassicaia, but that is nowhere to be found. There’s nothing particularly wrong with this wine; it’s simply not inspiring. At about $49 – it’s a pass and a big one. Buy Brunello or Barolo or save your money for Sassicaia.
Maybe it needs cellar time? Maybe. But I’m not willing to wait. The role of a “second wine” is to provide near term drinking while the estate’s first wine cellars to mature perfection. I’m not interested in waiting for a second wine to mature – especially when there are so many other options. 86 points.
Once bitten, second wine shy.
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| The uninspiring Guido Alberto |
Hi John,
and thanks for an interesting blog! I share your passion for Italian wines, and I do it here – http://barolista.blogspot.se/
I saw that we also share the love for 1997 Flaccianello! 🙂 I also had it last autumn and scored it exactly as you – 98p! 🙂 http://barolista.blogspot.se/2012/12/tasting-1997-tuscany-fourth-flight.html
Keep up the good work!
/Joakim