SASSICAIA

As Italy's top Bordeaux-style red wine, the story of Sassicaia began in the 1840’s when Leopoldo Incisa, a former politician with a passionate interest in fine wine, published two books about Italian and foreign vines.

Almost a century later his great-grandchild, the Marquis Mario Incisa della Rocchetta dreamt of creating a 'noble' wine having been influenced by these tomes and experimented with several French grape varieties, before noticing Cabernet Sauvignon was the “bouquet he was looking for.”

In addition to the heady fragrance of cabernet sauvignon, the Marquis’ decision to plant this grape variety at Tenuta San Guido was influenced by the quality of the region’s soil. Indeed, the name Sassicaia comes from the Tuscan dialect, and was used to describe the “stony ground” of this Italian winery. Once again, this shows the strong influence of the Bordeaux region of France on this estate, whose terroir is similar to that of Graves.

Nevertheless, it was only in the late 1960’s, after 20 years of personal consumption, that Sassicaia was introduced to the market, following an expansion of the vineyard to 75 hectares in 1965. Thus the super Tuscan wine phenomenon was born.

The 1968 vintage of Sassicaia, a blend between Cabernet Sauvignon (85%) and Cabernet Franc (15%) was soon recognized as the father of the new Italian wine family. With the passage of time, the Sassicaia landholdings expanded and new techniques and equipment adopted. For example, cellars have been moved to temperature-controlled quarters and French oak barriques used for the ageing process, producing excellent results.

The most remarkable 1985 vintage was understandably rewarded with 100 points by Robert Parker, who described it as “one of the greatest wines made in the 20th Century”. Impressive for its deep colour, fresh aromatics and vibrant flavours, this wine offers attractive and toasted oak notes on a medium-bodied frame with excellent length and a finish that lasts for nearly a minute.

Top Sassicaia Vintages produced