2014 Sassicaia, Tenuta San Guido, Bolgheri Sassicaia, Tuscany, Italy
Critics reviews
This is my official review of the 2014 Bolgheri Sassicaia after being graciously invited to the estate for various barrel samples spanning back several years. I have watched the evolution of this wine closely and am impressed by how its real quality is diametrically opposed to the poor expectations of this difficult vintage. The nose is redolent of bright fruit and blackberry. Spice, tar, and leather appear subtly at the back.
The wine gained considerable weight each year I came back to taste it, and this vintage was bottled earlier than average, precisely to give it more time to unwind and relax in the small confines of the bottle. This is a solid effort, for sure, and the wine is a stunning example of what it takes to make great wine, even when weather conditions are not in your favour.
Drink 2018 - 2030
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate (April 2017)
It was a difficult vintage that required more green harvest than normal and leaf plucking around the fruit in June because of disease pressure. 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc. Fermented in tank with indigenous yeasts. 11-15 days' vatting (longer than usual). Aged 24 months in French oak. Bottled in the last week.
I thought owner Priscilla Incisa Della Rocchetta and importer Armit were slightly defensive about this vintage – pre-empting suggestions that it was a poor vintage. But I don't think they needed to be. Deep garnet. Smoky, dark and restrained on the nose. There is lots of cassis and a lightly savoury/meaty Italianate quality. It's rounded and just a little chewy. It is very approachable on the palate but not very expressive on the nose. Lively, elegant and long. Firm but not resistant tannins, finely textured. Rich fruit on the finish. Moderate length. Very fresh.
Coming back to this after tasting the 2002 from Magnum (the winemaker thought it was a good comparison to show the way a vintage similar to 2014 had aged), this seemed refined and elegant. Juicy and still dry on the finish. Very mouth-watering and makes you want to drink more. It may be a less powerful style than in some years, but a significant achievement in 2014 in an attractive, balanced style.
Drink 2019 - 2030
Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com (February 2017)
A pretty and fresh red with berry and cherry character. Hints of walnut. Medium body, fine tannins and a crisp finish. Fine and delicate. Lighter than past vintages.
Drink now
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (March 2017)
Poured from Magnum
This is just starting to get into its stride. From a cool year, with a late start to spring and an early end to summer, which generally produced lighter, earlier drinking wines, Sassicaia 2014 nonetheless rises above the noise with a fresh and juicy expression of fragrant dried fruits and moreish blackberries with spicy, meaty and balsamic touches. It displays a streak of blackcurrant coulis and an aromatic note of toasted fenugreek seed on the long, gentle finish. Perhaps lacks some complexity and concentration compared to more esteemed vintages, but don't be fooled into thinking this is anything other than very good.
Drink 2023 - 2043
James Button, Decanter.com (February 2023)
About this WINE
Tenuta San Guido
Tenuta San Guido's journey to becoming one of the world's most sought-after fine wines is largely owed to the vision and dedication of Mario Incisa della Rocchetta. The estate's origins trace back to his wife's family, who had owned land in Bolgheri since 1800. The name "Sassicaia," meaning "place of many stones," reflects the gravelly soil reminiscent of the Médoc region in France.
Mario Incisa della Rocchetta planted Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot vines on this land and enlisted the expertise of Piero Antinori's winemaker, Giacomo Tachis. Tachis played a pivotal role in shaping Tenuta San Guido's winemaking philosophy and techniques.
In 1968, Tenuta San Guido released its first vintage, which garnered universal acclaim. Over time, it has become recognised as one of the world's finest Cabernet Sauvignon wines. Notably, Tenuta San Guido made history by being the first single wine to be granted its own Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) status.
The wines of Tenuta San Guido are celebrated for their intense notes of cassis, coupled with a cedary elegance, and are renowned for their extraordinary power and length. This combination of factors has solidified Tenuta San Guido's position as a pinnacle of quality and prestige in the world of fine wine.
Bolgheri
Bolgheri is a new DOC in the coastal Maremma region which first rose to prominence during the 1970s with the emergence of the so-called Super Tuscan wines like Ornellaia and Sassicaia. These new ventures had rocked the DOC establishment by using high proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon, opting out of the DOC system and relabeling their wines as simply Vino da Tavola (table wine).
Having won universal acclaim and exchanging hands for unprecedented prices (higher even than Tuscany's finest examples), the authorities relented and awarded Bolgheri its own DOC. The actions of the Super Tuscans inspired a generation in Italy, even if some of the wines here have lost a little of their lustre since.
Cabernet Sauvignon blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
Poured from Magnum
This is just starting to get into its stride. From a cool year, with a late start to spring and an early end to summer, which generally produced lighter, earlier drinking wines, Sassicaia 2014 nonetheless rises above the noise with a fresh and juicy expression of fragrant dried fruits and moreish blackberries with spicy, meaty and balsamic touches. It displays a streak of blackcurrant coulis and an aromatic note of toasted fenugreek seed on the long, gentle finish. Perhaps lacks some complexity and concentration compared to more esteemed vintages, but don't be fooled into thinking this is anything other than very good.
Drink 2023 - 2043
James Button, Decanter.com (February 2023)
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