Tenuta San Guido

In the 1920s the Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta dreamt of creating a ‘thoroughbred’ wine and for him, as for all the aristocracy of the time, the ideal was Bordeaux. A wine made mainly from Cabernet Sauvignon was a fundamental change to the Tuscan and Piedmont tradition of Sangiovese and Nebbiolo, respectively. ‘Graves’, or ‘gravel’ in French refers to the rocky terrain which distinguishes the Bordeaux area; similarly, the gravely vineyard sites in Tuscany impart the same characteristics on Sassicaia, "stony ground", as its cherished French brother. The first vintages were not well received so Sassicaia between 1947 and 1967 remained strictly a family affair. The first vintage of 1968 is now a collector’s item and the property’s vineyards, have grown immensely over the decades. This led to the introduction of Guidalberto in 2000. This was born out of the desire to see what they could accomplish with Merlot, a grape that we had never used before and second, the desire to offer the consumer a wine which could be appreciated at a younger age compared to our veteran Sassicaia. In 2003 they went further and started producing Le Difese which is a Cabernet/Sangiovese blend.

The 1985 Sassicaia which I’ve had the pleasure of drinking on a few occasions is and outstanding and incredibly hedonistic wine. However, for me the greatest Sassicaia is 1988 which is more classically structure and pure. The 2006 and 2016 are both beasts that will rival the greatest wines of this property.