It’s hard for me to believe that 7 years has passed since I first tasted the newest wine to be released from the Tenuta San Guido Estate (Makers of SASSICAIA) – Le Difese. Sassicaia has been a perennial powerhouse and a standard to which many other Tuscan estates strive to achieve. So when first learning of this “new wine” I was a bit cynic, but could not have been more wrong as this blend of 70% Cabernet/30% Sangiovese has been delighting Zachys clients for the last 5 years.
Oprah's Last SHow
Last night I was dragged in front of the TV to take part in the watching of “OPRAH’S Final Show”….I gotta admit, it was PRETTY IMPRESSIVE!! Before I was allowed to sit down and the show could start I was sent to get us each a glass of wine. On the top shelf of the wine fridge was the newest release of the Le Difese (2009)….to which I blurted out, “This should be a perfect glass to toast Oprah’s farewell dear!”
Honestly, I could not have been more correct. Served at cellar temperature this wine was SINGING last night with my wife Jen stating it was exceptionally “smooth & easy and I would easily give this a 8.5/9 out of 10”. I would have to agree with her here.
The first few vintages of this wine it seemed like a bit of an “extra” wine for the estate and a way for them to utilize young-vine Sangiovese & Cabernet. Clearly these vines have the proper age now as the 2009 shows a tremendous sweet intensity to the mid-palate all the while having deliciously round and supple tannins which give the wine a seamless finish.
Grabing the bottle Le Difese from the wine cooler
The “glass of wine” quickly turned into a finished bottle as the 2009 Le Difese is simply DEE-LISH. (And “No” it was not influenced by the emotion of the show!)
I can tell you that one of the first things I am going to do today is tell Brian Mullaney to arrange to have a case of this shipped to my house for this Summer as it is JUST THAT GOOD….And I suggest you do the same.
This vintage is different than others in the fact that our allocation is HALF of what it has been in previous vintages, so I fear this wine will be gone by the Fall. More reason for you to bypass buying it by the bottle and jump all over my six pack special below. (To take advantage of this special and unique pricing e-mail into our Customer Service department at cs@zachys.com)
I gotta admit, this wine was a GREAT finish to my day yesterday and I would have to agree with winemaker Sebastiano Rosa that this is his best Le Difese to date.
Grab it while it lasts!!
All my best,
Andrew
Le Difese Tenuta San Guido 2009 {#345727} Release Price $34.99/Bottle Current Sale Price $29.99/Bottle
Le Difese is a blend of 70% cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Sangiovese…aged for 12 months in French and American oak barriques and refined for 3 months in bottle before release to the market. As with the Guidalberto, Sebastiano Rosa has made great strides with this wine and the 2009 is one of the best ever for this wine.
Sebastiano’s aim here is to produce a wine of accessibility and youthful pleasure, in contrast to the more structured and long-lived style of Sassicaia. Also of course, more affordable!
“Grown Into Its Own Six Pack Special” $150/Six Pack (That’s only $25/Bottle!!)
