Antinori - Guado al Tasso 2007

JAMES SUCKLING: "What a powerful nose. Fresh herbs, currants, cassis, minerals, orange peel, pepper, and a rosemary character. A full bodied wine with minerals, dried herbs, currants, and hints of lightly toasted oak. This is very precise, powerful, and gorgeous. Immense complexity with a very, very long finish. Fabulous and balanced right now but could still use more bottle age. This may turn out to be the best release yet. Don't touch this until 2015."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "Guado al Tasso is a wine that will make you fall uncontrollably in love with Italy. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot are expertly blended to produce amazing intensity, purity and texture. You'll appreciate aromas of mineral, ripe fruit, leather, tobacco and chocolate."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2007 Guado al Tasso screams of Bolgheri. Sweet grilled herbs, mocha, spices and black cherry jam are woven into a generous, expansive frame. There is a wonderful sense of richness and warmth to the fruit that carries through to the round harmonious finish, where clean, minerally notes add freshness. This is simply gorgeous today, but it is young, and the oak needs to integrate. Still, it is impossible not to admire the 2007 Guado al Tasso. In 2007 Guado al Tasso is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. The late ripening Cabernet Franc, used in place of Syrah for the first time in 2007, adds a measure of freshness that had often been missing in previous vintages."

DECANTER: "This is intense and smoky, with liquorice and bitter dark chocolate notes layered on top of smoked almonds. The tannins really push their way through to the front of the mouth. This feels like it needs a good long time to further soften and it is the result of an excellent growing season. A warm spring was followed by some August rains and then a fine, dry harvest period with day-night temperature swings that ensured great concentration in the grapes. The team has used 3% Petit Verdot, which completes the blend. All vineyard plots were vinified separately, with malolactic fermentation taking place in new oak barrels. Blending was done after the component wines were aged in barrel, followed by 10 months of ageing in the bottle before release."

WINE SPECTATOR: "A little herbal, but with attractive currant and berry character. Full and chewy, with ripe tannins and a long finish. Not the 2006, but serious. Best after 2013. 9,165 cases made, 1,750 cases imported."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Notably dark ruby. Really nice evolution on the nose, with some freshness. Then, yet again, sweetness on palate entry but the tannins seem to have resolved themselves. I could relish this with a bowl of spaghetti amatriciana – or other powerful, hearty dish."

FALSTAFF: "Leuchtendes, intensives Rubin mit Violett. Intensive Nase mit Noten nach Tabak und Cassis, im Hintergrund leicht würzige Noten. Zupackendes, kerniges Tannin, breitet sich satt aus, viel dunkle Beerenfrucht, im Finale feiner Schmelz."