Tenuta San Guido

Sassicaia is one of Italy’s most famous wines, one of the flagships of the super Tuscan camp. Cabernet Sauvignon based, it is started by Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, but is now under his son Nicolo. Mario was a revolutionary and don’t like the rigid wine law, so decided to break out to make the best wine he could under a vino da tavola.

His estate, Tenuta San Guido, was located in the Tuscan town of Bolgheri. The wine now includes about 25% Cabernet Franc, with a second wine called Guidalberto, accounting for 10,000 out of the total 25,000 cases produced annually. Mario had been dreamed to produce a noble wine based on Bordeaux model in the 1920s.

The gravel soils in Tenuta San Guido are quite similar to Graves and ideal for the varieties, and in fact Sassicaia is the Tuscan word for ‘stony ground’. The original wines came from a vineyard planted in an area called Castiglioncello. In 1965 Mario planted two new vineyards with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, becoming the later Sassicaia vineyard, located about 800 feet lower than the original vineyard.

Under Nicolo there was little change except for the conversion of old wood fermentation vats to temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. It is a catalyst for the vineyard development that has taken place along the Tuscan coastline, particularly in Bolgheri. It was among the first Italian wines to receive international acceptance.

I have recently tasted the 1992 and 2006 vintages and below is my tasting note:

Appearance
Bright and clear, this wine is of medium ruby color, with wide garnet rims and legs.

Nose
Clean, the nose shows medium intensity aromas of black fruit such as blackberry, dried fruit of prune, pungent spice of liquorice, oak notes of cedar, kernel notes of cocoa, animal notes of leather, herbaceous notes of blackcurrant leaf, hints of maturity notes of savory. The wine is fully developed.

Palate
Dry with medium acidity, medium tannin of ripe and silky texture, the wine has medium alcohol and is of medium body with medium intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry and dark plum, oak notes of cedar, kernel notes of cocoa, floral notes of violet. The wine has a long finish.

Conclusion
Very good quality Italian super-tuscan with a reasonably intense nose of good complexity, the wine has a good balance with a fair intensity on palate, and accompanying with a really long finish. However, the maturity characters are not that apparent and even though the acidity and vibrancy shows the wine is still in good shape the development did not really show the 20+ years in age. Ready to drink now and not suitable for further ageing.

Appearance
Bright and clear, this wine is of deep ruby color, with legs.

Nose
Clean, the nose shows medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit such as cassis and blackberry, red fruit of raspberry and plum, oak notes of cedar, pungent spice of liquorice, floral notes of violet, maturity notes of savory, kernel notes of cocoa. The wine is developing.

Palate
Dry with medium acidity, medium tannin of ripe and well-integrated texture, the wine has medium alcohol and is of medium (+) body with medium (+) intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry and dark plum, red fruit of raspberry, oak notes of cedar, mineral notes of tar. The wine has a long finish.

Conclusion
Very good quality super-Tuscan from Italy, the wine has a good intense nose showing complex characters, with the interesting changes happening during the process of enjoyment. On the palate it is equally concentrated showing a good balance of acidity, with a seamlessly integrated tannin which is so perfectly matched into the wine. Accompanying by a very long finish, this wine is beautiful and ready to drink now, though can benefit from further ageing of another 5-7 years.