San Guido
San Guido Winery
About us
Tenuta San Guido is named after Saint Guido della Gherardesca who lived during the XI century. It is located on the Tyrrhenian coast, between Leghorn and Grosseto, in Maremma, an area made famous by Italian Nobel prize winner Giosuè Carducci, and it stretches for 13 km from the sea to the hills.
It has three defining characteristics: Sassicaia wine, the Razza Dormello-Olgiata thoroughbred studfarm and the Bird Sanctuary Padule di Bolgheri. They divide the estate between Padule on the coast, the stud farm on the plain, and the vineyards planted up to 350 meters on the hills. The latter have been given their own DOC, the DOC Bolgheri Sassicaia, the first, and so far only case in Italy of a DOC contained in only one estate.
The Vineyards
The vineyards of Tenuta San Guido cover approximately 90 hectares. Some of the vineyards are planted on the hillside,whilst some others are located lower, at an altitude of about 80 meters a.s.l..
Climate is crucial for a correct and healthy maturation of the grapes. It is influenced by the sea and by the hills that shelter the estate from the inland winds.
The location of vineyards in different areas and elevation is an important factor in the complexity of the wines, and provides a wide choice for the harvest, depending on the weather conditions and the maturation of the grapes. In addition, a study by the University of Pisa, highlighted the uniqueness of the vineyards of Tenuta San Guido by soil type and exposure, compared to the surrounding area.
The Winery
For a long time Bolgheri’s Castiglioncello was used as Sassicaia’s winery as it was the closest building to the vineyards at more than 300 m a.s.l..But as new vineyards were planted at greater distances and lower altitudes, a new larger winery had to follow.The new, more central location was decided in the 1960s where it can be found today, on the cypress alley, close to the San Guido Oratory, which gives the estate its name.
A third smaller winery was built in 2007 by architect Agnese Mazzei, it houses the barriques for the ageing of the Sassicaia.