One wine changed the history of Italian wine in a single bottle: Sassicaia, from Bolgheri in Tuscany. It created the term "Super Tuscan" and even forced a rewrite of Italian wine law. This article traces its origin story all the way to the latest vintage available in Japan today.
A story that began with a marquis's dream
The hero of the story is Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta. Captivated by the great wines of Bordeaux, in the 1940s he planted Cabernet Sauvignon, then the most unconventional of choices in Italy, at Tenuta San Guido in Bolgheri, his wife Clarice's family estate. He named the vineyard Sassicaia, Tuscan dialect for "a place full of stones". Gravelly soils resembling those of the Graves in Bordeaux are what drew him to this land.
At first the wine never reached the market; for more than twenty years it was a private wine enjoyed only by family and friends. As word spread of how remarkably it improved with age, it was finally released commercially with the 1968 vintage (released in 1971).
The "table wine" that changed Italian wine law
The turning point came through the family's ties to the noble Antinori house. Antinori's gifted winemaker Giacomo Tachis joined the project and quality leapt forward. In 1978, at a blind tasting held by the British magazine Decanter, Sassicaia came first among 33 Cabernets from around the world, and its name became famous overnight.
Yet under the Italian wine law of the time, a red made from Cabernet in Bolgheri could only be labelled as the lowest grade, "vino da tavola" (table wine). The contradiction of a top-tier wine that broke the rules eventually moved the system, and in 1994 Sassicaia became the only single estate DOC in Italy, "Bolgheri Sassicaia". A single wine changed a nation's law, a rare case anywhere in the world.
A record of glory
The 1985 vintage earned 100 points from Robert Parker. The 2015 vintage was named number one in Wine Spectator's Top 100 of the year (announced in 2018). Half a century on, Sassicaia remains an Italian first growth pursued by collectors around the world.
Terroir and winemaking
85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc. The gravelly hillside vineyards facing the Mediterranean are cooled at night by the breeze off the Tyrrhenian Sea, so the grapes ripen slowly and completely. The wine is aged about 24 months in French oak barriques. Rather than sheer power, its hallmark is elegance, saline minerality and the poise of Mediterranean herbs.
Reading the latest 2022 vintage
The latest vintage available now is 2022. It was a difficult year of intense heat and drought, yet the sea breeze and older vines proved Bolgheri's strengths. By picking early and extracting gently, the wine keeps a freshness and clarity you would not expect from a hot year.
The reviews are stunning: Wine Advocate (Monica Larner) 97+, James Suckling 98, Decanter 97, Vinous 94. Larner predicts a drinking window of 2028 to 2050, confirming its long aging potential. It is the finest textbook example of Bolgheri in a hot year, an outstanding choice both to cellar now and to open on a special occasion.
The Sassicaia lineage, in a glass
Tenuta San Guido makes three reds today: Sassicaia at the summit, the second wine Guidalberto born in 2000, and the approachable Le Difese. Taste the three in turn, each carrying the DNA of the same vineyards, and the reason for the legend should fall into place. We offer all of them to order (Sassicaia 2022 is in very limited quantity, so please enquire).
For how to enjoy Sassicaia in restaurants and how to find rare vintages, see this article. Meet the producer on the Tenuta San Guido winery page.
[About special order items]
The wines featured in this article are sourced to order after you place your order. Delivery normally takes about 4 business days (this may vary by product). If our supplier cannot fulfil it, we will contact you promptly and issue a full refund.
Comments (0)
There are no comments for this article. Be the first one to leave a message!