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Sassicaia
Origins
It all started on the San Guido estate of which this wine is synonymous, from the dream of the Marquis Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, who since the age of 20 wanted to produce a wine with a strong personality, idealizing Bordeaux wines . His kinship with the Antinori family allowed him to get in touch with the winemaker Giacomo Tachis, with whom he started the production of the first Bordeaux-style red wine in the history of Bolgheri , following the decision to plant the cuttings of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc that Mario imported from the estate of the Salviati Dukes in Migliarino. He had sensed an extraordinary resemblance to that particular area of Livorno with Graves of Bordeaux, both characterized by a mainly gravelly soil favorable to the production of great red wines.
The year of the "Sassicaia myth"
Until 1967, Sassicaia remained strictly private domain, and was drunk only on the estate. In 1968 the first vintage of Sassicaia was made available on the market, a wine different from all those produced so far in Italy which aroused the interest and attention of the great critic Gino Veronelli. Initially categorized as Table Wine, it soon established itself as IGT and more and more in the following years until the Tenuta San Guido, Bolgheri, Tuscany but especially Italy as a country capable of producing wines of the highest level were reevaluated. From wine without history, coming from an unknown area, Sassicaia became a myth of Italian vines, until in 2013 the 75 hectares of vineyards from which this wine originated detached themselves from the Bolgheri denomination to constitute a reserved DOC.
Sassicaia wine
Production
85% of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and 15% of Cabernet Franc grapes carefully harvested by hand just before they reach full maturity to guarantee all the organoleptic characteristics, the finesse and elegance of Sassicaia. The vinification process takes place at a controlled temperature of 30 ° -31 ° C for a period of two weeks in steel tanks. After two weeks of fermentation, the wine ages for about 24 months in French oak barriques and then ages in glass before being released onto the market.
The best vintages
Absolute excellence of the Italian wine scene that celebrated its 50 years in 2018, it is now recognized as the most famous Italian wine among connoisseurs and critics from all over the world, often compared to the great Premier Cru of Bordeaux. Like any great wine, Sassicaia reaches incomparable quality levels in excellent vintages. Among the memorable vintages, 1978 and 1985 are most remembered, as they consecrated the fame of Sassicaia in the world. Other famous vintages that come very close to perfection were those of the vintages 1988, 1990, 1995, 1997, 2004, 2009, the "magic triad" 2011, 2012 and 2013, up to the immense 2015.
Here are the best vintages in detail:
- Vintage with a fresh spring and a very hot summer. A wine with an elegant profile, with fragrant aromas of berries and balsamic hints. Harmonious mouth, supported by an excellent acidity and a long and balanced finish.
- The son of a fresh and rainy year, the wine has a refined face, with delicate fruit and aromas of officinal herbs. The sip is tense, vibrant with slightly shy fruit and an important sour shoulder.
- Overall good year, with a particularly favorable end of summer. A Sassicaia already evolving towards complex tertiary scents, fresh, harmonious and of great persistence.
- A particular thousandth, with pretty stable weather until the rains of the second half of August. The wine reflects the season with a still fresh and youthful face, an energetic mouth and with an acidic vein still the protagonist of the sip.
- A vintage with a regular trend and a very favorable climate, with excellent ripening of the grapes. An intense and rich wine, with a beautiful structure, deep and persistent.
- A thousandth with a favorable climate, especially in the final part of the season, gave an elegant, complex and harmonious Sassicaia. A classic wine with perfect balance.
If you are lucky enough to taste some old vintages, keep an eye on: 1997, 1996, 1995 1990, 1989, 1988, 1986, 1985, 1982, 1977, 1975, 1968.
Characteristics and combinations
- intense ruby red color tending to garnet with aging
- rich, elegant and majestic perfume
- dry, massive, robust, balanced, good structure
Perfect in combination with the strong flavors of game dishes and some aged cheeses, it proves excellent in the company of walnuts and porcini mushrooms.