Tuscan Collectibles: Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia – The Wine

It’s always a pleasure to taste Sassicaia with the owner, Nicolo Incisa della Rocchetta. It was his father Mario who created Sassicaia at the family estate of San Guido on the coast of Tuscany near a town called Bolgheri.

The Incisa family always made Sassicaia as a wine to be consumed and enjoyed. It was created first as a family house wine due to Mario’s love of great Bordeaux. The original cuttings to start the vineyard in the late 1940s was said to be from Lafite-Rothschild. It was first commercially sold in 1968 with the help of Nicolo’s cousin Piero Antinori.

Nicolo always says that he wants to make something “drinkable” and “elegant.” I find Sassicaia can often seem almost too delicate when it is young, but the wines take on weight with age in the bottle. The classics are such vintages as 1968, 1978, 1985, 1988, 1997, and 1998. However, I find recent years such as 2006, 2007 and 2008 extremely high quality. The latter is the best in a long time.

Sassicaia is my No. 2 Most Collectible Tuscan Wine. It has the pedigree, class, and reputation around the world as one of Tuscany’s great historical collectible wines. I tasted the two most recent vintages with Nicolo at his restaurant near the winery last summer. Enjoy the interview and tasting.

2009 Tenuta San Guido Bolgheri-Sassicaia Sassicaia: Lots of plums and spices with dried blackberries, hints of cedar. Full and juicy with loads of fruit and a long finish. Racy, refined and balanced. Very fruity and intense. 94-95 points.

2008 Tenuta San Guido Bolgheri-Sassicaia Sassicaia: This is the best young Sassicaia in years. It's the new 1988 – which was great, sometimes better than the legendary 1985. What incredible aromas here with blueberries, spices, licorice, plums. Graphite too. Subtle and complex. Full and silky with a beautiful texture of fine tannins and an ultra-fine finish. So beautiful now but will be much better in 2015. Owner Nicolo Incisa della Rocchetta says that Sassicaia is always great in years that end with eight: 1958, 1968, 1978, 1988, 1998, and 2008.