Bolgheri Rosso Cont'Ugo Guado al Tasso Antinori 2023 (750ML)

Bolgheri's 2023 season started early, with budbreak on March 20 after a mild, very dry winter. A wet spring and a hot July followed, and hot northern winds from August 20 to 25 stressed the most exposed parcels before late-August Atlantic showers and a sunny September brought the Merlot in, picked September 6–18. Cont'Ugo is the all-Merlot wine of Antinori's Guado al Tasso estate, grown at 45–60 meters on alluvial clay-loam. After some 20 days of maceration in steel, it completed malolactic in barrique by year's end, then aged 12 more months in second-fill barriques before bottling in the second half of March 2025. Intense ruby, it shows small red berries, wild Mediterranean herbs, a mossy, earthy undertone and licorice root over a full, plush frame with fine tannins. Try mushroom tagliatelle, veal saltimbocca or roast chicken with olives.