My Article: How Does Sassicaia 2010 Compare to Other Vintages?

The 2009 was a tough act to follow for one of Italy's most collectible wines, Sassicaia, considering I thought it was close to being the new version of the legendary 1985 – a 100-point wine. I rated the 2009 Sassicaia 98 points last year.

The 2010 Sassicaia was just released and it's an outstanding bottle. I think that people are going to love this newest Sass. The red is very aromatic with currant, dried berry, coco bean, and hints of wood. It's full-bodied, with intense yet very polished tannins and a long finish. It's very refined and beautiful with a tangy finish. The Cabernet Franc comes through here at the finish. Lively. Hard not to drink now. 94 points.

The blend is the standard 85 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 15 percent Cabernet Franc. The growing season was a little uneven in 2010 for Bolgheri. Poor weather during the flowering made the harvest late from the beginning. In fact, the harvest was two to three weeks later than the year before. Rain was a factor in September but not a big problem.

Stylistically, the 2010 reminds me of something like 2001 or 1979. These are soft and silky wines with friendly fruit and a juicy, fresh and fruity style. The 1979 is still drinking extremely well today. And the 2001 is just starting to drink well now.

Here are my tasting notes for the prior four years of Sassicaia:

2009 Tenuta San Guido Bolgheri-Sassicaia: This is fantastic. Intense and super long on the palate. It’s insanely complex yet subtle with so much going on, with a beautiful balance and tension. It is full and powerful with a big juicy character that goes on for minutes. Muscular yet covered with pretty fruit. Hard not to drink. But better in 2016. 98 points

2008 Tenuta San Guido Bolgheri-Sassicaia: Sexy wine with blackberries and flowers. All dressed up and beautiful. It’s full and velvety with ripe tannins and a persistent finish. Slows a little on the finish but clearly classy. I liked this one point more a year ago but it’s slightly closed now. Better in 2014. 96 points

2007 Tenuta San Guido Bolgheri-Sassicaia: This is classy on the nose with subtle currant, sweet tobacco, cigar box and dried flowers. Cassis too. Full body, with refined tannins and a solid core of fruit. Polished and very pretty. Long and delicious already. But you have to wait on this. It has so much more to give. Try after 2015. 93 points

2006 Tenuta San Guido Bolgheri-Sassicaia: Sweet tobacco, and berry with hints of currants. Full, soft and silky. Lots of fruit and a long finish. It’s subtle, dense and sophisticated. Please give this another five years to really show what it has. 95 points