2022 Tenuta di Carleone, Il Guercio, Toscana

This is a hot Chianti estate to watch, on a meteoric rise. Working organically and biodynamically, Sean O’Callaghan seems to have a magic touch—he renders high-toned, red fruited, poised Sangiovese. ‘Il Guercio’ loosely translates as ‘the one-eyed rascal’, and if this wine ended up with such a wacky insider name, it’s all part of one-eyed winemaker Sean O’Callahan’s master plan for this experimental wine. Il Guercio is the opposite of the soft, plush Sangiovese many expect from Tuscany today. It comes from high-altitude Gaiole fruit and is vinified with long, gentle macerations in concrete. The result is a wine of tension and power—bright, driving acidity and tannins with real grip, more angular and energetic than silky. This is Sangiovese in its purest, most unadorned form: no barrique makeup, no Cabernet Sauvignon (unlike Solailia/Solaia). Instead, a vertical, red-fruited wine that shows how far Sangiovese can be pushed without losing its identity. It is serious and structured, built more like a top-tier Alto Piemonte or traditional Chianti Classico Riserva than a polished “Super Tuscan.”