M�rke: Tenuta San Guido

‘Sassicaia’ means ‘place of many stones’ in reference to the gravelly soil of its vineyards, similar to those found in the Médoc and Graves – an ideal terroir for the Bordeaux varieties that are now planted at the estate. When the vineyards expanded to 75 hectares in the 1960s, a new winery was built near the church of San Guido. This included the installation of new equipment such as temperature-controlled stainless steel vats for separate fermentation of harvest lots, and new French oak barriques.

A modest 15,000 cases of Sassicaia are produced each vintage. The wine is aged for 24 months in oak (one third of which is new) and then bottle-aged for 6 months before release onto the market.

The estate’s second and third wines, Guidalberto and Le Difese, both contain Sangiovese and, as they are intended to be younger drinking wines, are aged for a shorter time than Sassicaia.

Sassicaia 1985 is considered to be one of the greatest wines of the 20th century with Robert Parker awarding it 100 points.

Tasting Notes: Good deep ruby red in the glass, generous notes of chocolate raisins, some herbs and a little smoke. Mid bodied and well balanced, lovely mouth feel with silky tannins. Blackberry on the mid palate, very fresh, lively and fruity. Long warm finish.


Grape varieties: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc.


Food Pairings: Red meats, hearty chicken, meaty past.

Tasting notes: Sassicaia 2009 shows an intense and deep ruby red color. Great complexity and harmony on the nose. Strong and thick taste, with soft and balanced tannins. On the palate it is rich, long and, at the same time, characterized by a great elegance and
grace.

99/100 points Daniele Cernilli on www.doctorwine.it
From Cabernet Sauvignon grapes with small amounts of Cabernet Franc. It has an intense and bright ruby color, with good concentration. The bouquet is already
complex, fruity notes of blueberry are obvious, as are leather and spice, with hints of graphite in the background. The palate is taut, elegant, with fine tannins, barely perceptible, comparable to those of the great Pauillac wines, but with a greater smoothness and an development that leads to a subtle finish which is also very long. I guess that it will reach perfection in only a few more years in the bottle, from five to thirty.
(27/8/2012)

98 /100 points James Suckling on Hong Kong Tatler
This is fantastic. Intense and super long on the palate. It’s ultra 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. It’s also muscular, yet covered with pretty fruit. Hard not to drink right now, but it should be even better in 2016.
(http://hk.asiatatler.com/columnists/james-suckling/new-vintages-of-sassicaia
1/9/2012)