San Guido

The della Gherardesca legacy

The estate’s history belongs to a much older agricultural landscape. The Counts della Gherardesca began revitalising the area at the end of the seventeenth century and planted early flatland vineyards in the San Guido and Belvedere zones. In 1703, Simone Maria della Gherardesca commissioned the Oratory of San Guido in memory of Guido della Gherardesca. The building provided a place of worship during periods of intensive agricultural work, when malaria made unnecessary travel dangerous.

Castiglioncello di Bolgheri, probably founded around 780 and formerly known as Monte Oliveto, passed repeatedly among the della Gherardesca, Soderini and Incontri families. Count Cammillo della Gherardesca recovered it in 1801. In 1816, experimental vineyards were created at the Capanne di Castiglioncello, where the first Sassicaia vineyard would eventually be planted.

During the first half of the nineteenth century, Guido Alberto della Gherardesca—also rendered Guidalberto in the estate’s wine narrative—promoted a new agricultural and wine culture at Bolgheri. Working with the vinification specialist Giuseppe Mazzanti, he experimented with French varieties including Gamay, Cabernet and Syrah. His appointment as Chief Steward and Bottler to the Court of Grand Duke Leopold II in 1833 enabled him to study French viticulture closely. He also developed mills, churches and the Viale dei Cipressi. The cypresses initially marked divisions between crops; their ornamental role emerged later. Phylloxera destroyed the vineyards at the beginning of the twentieth century, forcing the local vineyard structure and choice of varieties to be reconsidered.

Mario and Clarice Incisa della Rocchetta

Mario Incisa della Rocchetta was born in Rome in 1899 into a Piedmontese family. While studying agriculture at the University of Pisa during the 1920s, he developed a strong interest in agronomy and imagined an agriculture founded on quality and respect for the earth. His travels in France and exchanges with leading figures in French wine culture expanded that education.

Mario married Clarice della Gherardesca in 1930. Her dowry comprised the 2,500-hectare property that forms present-day Tenuta San Guido, extending for 13 kilometres from the hills to the Tyrrhenian coast. The family initially visited Bolgheri during the summer. Mario began planning a permanent move after the war and reorganised the property as a directly managed, integrated agricultural economy. It produced soft wheat, fruit and vegetables for Switzerland, gladiolus bulbs for Europe and America, fodder for cattle, and feed for the family’s racehorses. The thoroughbred operation was transferred entirely to Bolgheri.

Agricultural activity continued through the Second World War without interruption. Mario recognised similarities between the gravelly, stony and partially clay-rich soils of Bolgheri and the Graves area of Bordeaux. Early Cabernet material came from the Dukes Salviati of Migliarino. The first plantings combined Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc with Canaiolo, Ciliegiolo and white varieties; selection became progressively concentrated on Cabernet Sauvignon between 1960 and 1968.

In 1944, Mario planted just over one hectare of Cabernet Sauvignon near Castiglioncello di Bolgheri at approximately 400 metres above sea level. This was the beginning of Sassicaia. The wine was made from 1945 but remained private, reserved for family and friends, through 1967.

The development of a commercial wine estate

Family ties between the della Gherardesca and Antinori families brought Mario into contact with the young oenologist Giacomo Tachis. Together they developed Bolgheri’s first Bordeaux-style red. Their collaboration lasted for more than 40 years and established principles that remained influential after Tachis’s death in 2016.

Mario’s youngest son, Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta, joined the management of the estate in the 1960s. Nicolò and Tachis, close in age and aligned in their preferences, made production more structured and controlled. The 1968 harvest became the first commercial vintage, released in 1971. Nicolò developed foreign markets, relationships with importers, clients and collectors, expanded vineyard plantings, and transformed the family’s experiment into a professionally managed enterprise.

Castiglioncello had served as the original cellar while the vineyards clustered around the castle. As plantings expanded across the estate, its high and remote location became inefficient. In the mid-1970s, the production and ageing cellar was therefore established at the entrance to the Viale dei Cipressi.

International recognition arrived in 1978, when Sassicaia 1972 placed first among 33 anonymous Cabernet-based wines in a London tasting organised by Hugh Johnson for Decanter. The 1985 vintage subsequently received 100 points from Robert Parker. Mario Incisa died in 1983 after a life that combined agriculture, wine, thoroughbred breeding and nature conservation.

Expansion and appellation recognition

Nicolò long intended to produce only Sassicaia, but the rise of Merlot in Bolgheri during the early 1990s changed his perspective. By the middle of the decade, he and Giacomo Tachis were establishing vineyards along the Viale dei Cipressi, between the Oratory of San Guido and the hills, on clay- and silt-rich sites selected for Merlot. The combination of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon followed more than 20 years of trials and resulted in Guidalberto, first released from the 2000 harvest. Additional vineyards subsequently broadened the range of elevations, soils and exposures.

Le Difese followed with the 2002 harvest. It combined Cabernet Sauvignon with Sangiovese and was conceived as an approachable introduction to the estate’s style.

The Sassicaia production area became a subzone of the newly created Bolgheri DOC in 1994. In 2013 it became the autonomous Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC, reserved for Sassicaia produced by Tenuta San Guido within its delimited vineyard area. It is presented as the first and only Italian denomination reserved for a single wine made by a single estate.

Management and the third generation

Nicolò built a management structure combining family stewardship with specialised professional expertise. He is Honorary President. The third generation of wine-producing family stewardship is represented by five cousins. Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta, Nicolò’s daughter, is responsible for external relations and for representing the relationship between family, estate and territory.

Alessandro Berlingieri became Chief Executive Officer in 2018 and Chairman in 2022. Carlo Paoli has served as General Manager and Head of Production since 2009 and became Chief Executive Officer in 2025. The oenology team is led by Paoli and includes Alessio Bartolomei and Matilde Gentili; Nicola Politi heads agronomy.

The contemporary model joins winegrowing, olive cultivation, arable farming, horse breeding, wildlife conservation and Mediterranean woodland within one estate. In 2025, Tenuta San Guido and IPSP-CNR began a five-year programme to monitor and protect the Viale dei Cipressi, and the Padule di Bolgheri Wildlife Refuge reopened to reserved small-group visits after years focused on conservation and scientific monitoring.

A 13-kilometre corridor

Tenuta San Guido covers 2,500 hectares in the Maremma and runs for approximately 13 kilometres from the remote fortress of Castiglioncello di Bolgheri to the coast. Its landscape passes through Mediterranean forest, hillside vineyards, olive groves, arable fields, horse-training grounds, the Viale dei Cipressi, ash woods, marshes, dunes and a sandy shoreline.

The vineyard terrain lies broadly between 60 and 400 metres above sea level, with predominantly west and south-west orientations. The soils are morphologically varied and include clay, sand, limestone, alberese marl, gabbro, stones and pebbles. The stony character inspired the name Sassicaia.

The Sassicaia microzone

Two geological and topographic sectors are distinguished. Foothill vineyards at approximately 80 metres derive from Lower–Middle Pleistocene formations. Hillside vineyards between 250 and 400 metres occupy terrain originating in the Lower Cretaceous and Eocene–Paleocene periods. The historic Bolgheri Sassicaia parcels are situated between 100 and 360 metres on shallow, highly stony soils rich in marl, gabbro and pebbles, with limestone and clay.

High stoniness and shallow soil limit vegetative growth. Clay within the soil profile moderates summer water stress and helps balance vegetative and productive development. The variation among elevations, exposures and soil types permits selection among parcels according to vintage conditions, ripeness and acidity.

Maritime and woodland influences

Hills extending between Bibbona, Bolgheri and Castagneto Carducci shelter the vineyards from cold north-easterly and northern winds. Summer breezes move through the coastal and river corridors, including the valleys of the Cecina River, cooling the vineyards. The Tyrrhenian Sea reflects sunlight toward the hills and generates humidity that refreshes the ecosystem.

Winters are Mediterranean and mild, while summers are warm and moderated by consistent sea air. Sun exposure and ventilation discourage fungal development. Extensive surrounding woodland supports predators of vineyard insects and links the vineyards to a larger, biodiverse agricultural and conservation landscape.

Vineyard decisions are adapted to the condition, age and seasonal behaviour of each site. Older vines receive particular attention because of the qualitative responses associated with vine age. Work includes hoeing, natural weed removal, shallow operations designed not to damage surface roots, and periodic replacement of missing vines.

The training system is a low, spur-pruned cordon bent at approximately 40 centimetres. Planting patterns are described as sparse, with comparatively few vines per hectare. Low spur pruning increases exposed leaf area and photosynthetic efficiency. Dry pruning and green pruning are used to contain production; bunch thinning is added when seasonal conditions increase the crop.

Alternate-row grassing is practised in the Bolgheri Sassicaia zone with moderately vigorous rootstocks. Late topping and excessive leaf removal are avoided so that bunches remain protected. Fertilisation is exclusively organic, limited and balanced rather than intended to enrich naturally complex soils.

Sun exposure, steady sea breezes and surrounding woods reduce pest pressure. Woodland predators help control vineyard insects as an alternative to insecticides. Fungicides against powdery mildew and downy mildew are applied only when necessary.

Harvesting is manual. Selection is performed both among the vines and in the cellar. The wider countryside is managed through sustainability, integration and conservation, linking viticulture with climate responsibility, Mediterranean woodland, traditional mixed farming and the biodiversity of the Padule di Bolgheri Wildlife Refuge.

Wheat, oats and legumes are grown for internal use and rotated to support soil fertility. These crops also feed horses and local wildlife. Low-impact soil management, maintenance of hedges and humid grasslands, and cultivation of grasses and nectar plants extend biodiversity management beyond the vineyard.

Cellars

The first cellar was at Castiglioncello di Bolgheri, close to the earliest vineyard below the castle. Expansion into dispersed sites made this high location inefficient for grape transport and winery operations. In the mid-1970s, production and maturation were moved to a cellar at the entrance to the Viale dei Cipressi.

Foundational methods

Mario Incisa introduced severe pruning for low yields and adopted barriques for maturation in the French tradition. The current team continues to work within the principles developed by Mario, Nicolò Incisa and Giacomo Tachis while refining decisions through observation and vintage experience.

Selection takes place in the vineyard and cellar. Maceration duration varies with the harvest but is traditionally short. Artificial yeasts are excluded to preserve the intended personality and relationship with place. The production objective favours balance over concentration, seeking drinkability, elegance, freshness, supple tannins, harmony, longevity and territorial identity.

Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC regulations require at least 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, a maximum yield of 7 tonnes per hectare, average production no greater than 2 kilograms per vine and at least 18 months in 225-litre barriques. These are denomination requirements rather than a complete description of every cellar operation.

Tenuta San Guido’s governing idea is a continuous dialogue with living land. Mario Incisa regarded nature as a collaborator and agriculture as a design to be interpreted through the signs of seasons, plants and animals. He preferred small, isolated, stony and sloping vineyard sites to large vineyards on the plains and argued that care should follow the needs of the land rather than impose a standard formula.

The estate defines preservation and development as complementary responsibilities. Tradition and accumulated experience remain foundations, while research, observation and specialised management are used to improve quality without disrupting the balance of the ecosystem. Family stewardship is framed as an obligation to transmit a cultural and natural inheritance to future generations.

In wine, this translates into listening to vineyards, adapting work to vintage and vine age, selecting rigorously, avoiding artificial yeast, and seeking balance rather than concentration. Elegance, freshness, harmony, drinkability, longevity and a recognisable relationship with place take precedence over trends.

The same ethic links vineyards with arable crops, olive groves, horses, Mediterranean scrub, wetlands and wildlife. Biodiversity is treated as a source of identity and resilience. Environmental responsibility includes conserving woods and marshes, managing water carefully, supporting scientific monitoring, preserving the Viale dei Cipressi and maintaining low-impact agricultural systems.

Craftsmanship is understood as meticulous, attentive work shaped by human aptitude and experience. Professional managers work alongside the family, with decisions intended to create durable value for the estate, its employees, partners and surrounding community.