Le Difese 2023 Tenuta San Guido

Breaking the rules, Mario Incisa della Rocchetta planted Bordeaux varietals on his Tuscan estate and in the 1960s released the now legendary Sassicaia. Le Difese is the supple, earlier-drinking release. Cabernet and Sangiovese, it's silky and fresh.

For years, all but the wealthiest wine lovers could only look upon Sassicaia, one of the world’s greatest Cabernet Sauvignons, with envy, due to its price. La Difese was introduced in 2003 to meet demand for wines from this highly acclaimed estate, and to do so at a more accessible price level. 

Lively, approachable and versatile, Le Difese offers an attractively-priced introduction to the San Guido estate that is perfect for everyday enjoyment. Delicious and easy-going, it will be drinking beautifully from release, whilst Sassicaia and Guidalberto benefit from time in the cellar. The estate chose the wild boar, or cinghiale, as the emblem for Le Difese, representing the wildlife that shapes the habitat and unique biosphere surrounding the vines. This release’s charm lies in the fact that it represents compelling value within the Tenuta San Guido range, while remaining expressive of the estate’s restrained style and available in very limited quantities.

“As ever, it is with excitement that we discover the new vintage of Le Difese, giving us the tempo for the imminent release of Guidalberto next month and Sassicaia next year. And where to start with 2023... Race, precision and focus define the nose of this ever-growing wine in term of quality and value. A long-time favourite of our team and our restaurant customers, Le Difese 2023 is open, pure and elegant. Superb minerality, crunchy fruit and a floral character characterises the nose while the palate is fresh and tense, racy and lithe. With this type of freshness, it is very difficult to imagine that the wine comes from the Mediterranean climate. Achieving such elegance and finesse is a testament to the skill and precision of the winemaking team under the guidance of Carlo Paoli. Under his tenure in less than 20 years, Tenuta San Guido reveals a completely new dynamic and the pedigree of the wines produced vintage after vintage has never been so high.”
Nicolas Clerc MS