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  • Country ranking ?

    387
  • Producer ranking ?

    42
  • Decanting time

    45min
  • When to drink

    Now

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The Story

After almost 30 years of experimentation and solid work the Marquis decided to release Sassicaia´s 1968 vintage to the open market using his cousin´s, Antinori´s distribution network in the early 1970s, with instant sensation. At a Decanter tasting of Cabernet wines in London, 1978, Sassicaia from vintage 1972 beat all the other 33 wines of France and California, and since then Sassicaia has been one of the leading wines in the world and in great demand among wine collectors and investors. The marquis Mario Incisa della Rocchetta passed away in 1983. His son, Marquis Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta, now oversees all estate operations.

Sassicaia means “the place of many stones,” and refers to the region’s gravel soil. The original vineyards have a southwest exposure with extensive sun and maritime breezes that create robust vegetation. The grapes were handpicked, destemmed and crushed before fermenting with natural yeasts for 15 days in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. The wine was aged in French oak barriques (40% new) for 24 months, then refined for 6 months in bottle before release.

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Wine Information

The 1972 vintage won first place in a Decanter magazine wine challenge of Clarets in 1978 held in London, where several Bordeaux Cabernets were tasted. Among the jury were Hugh Johnson, Serena Sutcliffe and Clive Coates

The weather was exceptionally rainy in 1972. The month of June was good, but on July 20th the weather worsened, August and September were rainy with a glimmer of sun in the harvest period.

Wine making: Vinification took place in wooden Slavonian oak vats of 2 Hl with a maceration of 7 days.

Ageing: 85% of the wine was aged for a total of 18 months in Slavonian oak barriques, while
for the remainder French Tronçais oak was used. The latter were 50% - 33% new, while the former were about 55 - 60% new.

Tasting notes: Despite not being a great vintage, the wine has not yet reached organoleptic equilibrium. The etherification is fully integrated with the polymerization of the vats, to form a bouquet and a very good wine. Still it has not developed the distinct
characteristics of the Cabernet found in a Bordeaux wine of the same age.
(notes from the 1970’s)
The 1972 vintage won first place in a Decanter magazine wine challenge of Clarets
in 1978 held in London, where several Bordeaux Cabernets were tasted. Among the
jury were Hugh Johnson, Serena Sutcliffe and Clive Coates

Sassicaia – Tenuta San Guido

As a student in Pisa during the 1920's, the Marquis Mario Incisa della Rocchetta dreamed of creating a "noble" wine. Like most of Italian aristocracy at the time, his taste in wine ran strongly to fine Bordeaux. After settling with his wife, Clarice, into their Tuscan estate at Tenuta San Guido on the Mediterranean Coast, he experimented with several French grape varieties and concluded, “the bouquet I was looking for” was found in the Cabernet.
A wine that had Cabernet Sauvignon as its primary component represented a radical shift from the traditional Tuscan and Piedmontese varietals of Sangiovese and Nebbiolo. No one had ever considered making a wine crafted along Bordeaux lines on Italian soil, much less in a region not yet established viticulturally.
However, accustomed to the light, local wines, consumers did not respond well to the first vintages of Sassicaia. Wines made from the more complex Cabernet Sauvignon grapes take more time to mature and develop. Subsequently, from 1948 to 1960, Sassicaia was consumed only at the estate.
Each year, a small number of cases were laid down in the cellars of Castiglioncello. The Marquis discovered that as the years went by, however, the wine greatly improved. As is often the case with wines of great pedigree, those things originally considered defects turned into virtues over time. Soon, friends and relatives were urging him to pursue his passion and to perfect his revolutionary style of winemaking.

In 1965, he planted two more vineyards comprised of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Eventually, all of the wine produced on the estate came to be known by the name of Sassicaia.
The 1968 vintage of Sassicaia was the first to be offered on the open market, and it was as well received as the Premier Crus from Bordeaux.

The Marquis’ use of Cabernet grapes and his implementation of the barriques aging process soon spread throughout Italy. Sassicaia was the first Italian wine to successfully establish itself abroad, and is almost universally recognized as the father of the new Italian wine family or simply the Super Tuscan Pioneer. Mario Incisa della Rocchetta’s planting is now considered the birthplace of Italian Cabernet.

The marquis Mario Incisa della Rocchetta passed away in 1983. His son, Marquis Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta, now oversees all estate operations.


Sassicaia 1985
Tenuta San Guido

L’adagio secondo cui “dietro ogni grande vino si cela un grande uomo” è decisamente vero nella storia del vino.
Molti dei vini oggi leggendari hanno visto la luce solo grazie all’impegno e alla lungimiranza di quegli innovatori del mondo del vino che hanno avuto il coraggio e l’intuito per creare qualcosa di fuori dall’ordinario per loro terre. Spesso questi personaggi hanno ridato vita e influenzato intere regioni viticole, che prima del loro successo avevano prodotto vini mediocri per decenni se non secoli.
Se il Brunello di Montalcino deve le sue origini a Ferruccio
Biondi Santi, Bodegas Vega Sicilia Unico a Domingo de
Garramiola y Arbe, Château Musar a Gaston Hochar, Penfolds
Grange a Max Schubert, Barca Velha a Fernando Nicolau de
Almeida e Tignanello al Marchese Piero Antinori, così
Sassicaia le deve al Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta.
Sassicaia nasce sotto la guida e l’intuito del Marchese Mario Incisa
della Rochetta, di origini piemontesi, assieme all’assistenza dell’enologo di Piero Antinori, Giacomo Tachis. Negli anni ’20, ancora studente a Pisa, il Marchese sognava già di creare un grande vino. Come per molti aristocratici italiani del tempo, i suoi vini preferiti erano i grandi Bordeaux – Chateau Margaux in testa.
Nel 1940 si stabilì con la famiglia nei suoi tenimenti toscani, la Tenuta San Guido, distante poche miglia da Bolgheri, un piccolo paese sulla costa toscana. Vista la vicinanza col mare, Bolgheri non era mai stata considerata una zona favorevole alla viticoltura. Dopo varie sperimentazioni con innumerevoli varietà, il Marchese giunse a conclusione che il Cabernet era il vitigno che meglio rispondeva alla finezza di bouquet che stava cercando.
Nel 1942 piantò un migliaio di barbatelle di Cabernet sul lato della collina rivolto a Castiglioncello, che secondo lui meglio riproduceva il terroir delle graves di Bordeaux
“Graves” in francese, indica un terreno molto sciolto, sassoso; ugualmente sassicaia in dialetto toscano indica un terreno sassoso, proprio come il terreno di Castiglioncello, che ha dato il nome a questo vino.
Fare un vino a base di Cabernet Sauvignon fu una decisione coraggiosa in quei tempi, quando ancora nessuno aveva considerato l’idea di piantare varietà bordolesi sul suolo italiano. Nonostante le proteste della gente del posto, iniziò le sue sperimentazioni sul Cabernet, mantenendo il business principale della famiglia, l’allevamento di purosangue da corsa. Mai infatti aveva pensato di creare un vino per farne commercio; ha creato “non intenzionalmente” il vino più influente nella storia recente italiana.
Le prime bottiglie di Sassicaia furono prodotte in piccola quantità nel 1948, e furono tutte bevute dal Marchese e dai suoi ospiti. Da allora sino ai primi anni ’60, Sassicaia è stata una tenuta completamente privata e tutte le bottiglie furono consumate nella tenuta stessa. Ogni anno alcune casse venivano accantonate in cantina, così il Marchese poté constatare che il Sassicaia aveva grandi potenzialità d’invecchiamento.
A metà degli anni ’60 furono piantate due nuove vigne a Cabernet Sauvignon e Cabernet Franc. Entrambe trovarono posto 300 metri più in basso sulla collina del vigneto originale; la prima constava di 10 ettari, la seconda, detta Aianova, di 3. Negli anni, i vini prodotti da queste tre vigne presero il nome di Sassicaia.
Dopo più di 30 anni di sperimentazione e serio lavoro, nel 1970 il Marchese decise di lanciare nel mercato il Sassicaia 1968 usando la rete di distribuzione del cugino Antinori; il Sassicaia suscitò immediato scalpore.
Ad una degustazione di Cabernet tenuta da Decanter a Londra nel 1978, il Sassicaia 1972 sbaraglio la concorrenza degli altri 33 vini francesi e californiani presenti, e da allora il Sassicaia è diventato uno dei vini più pregiati del mondo e tra i più richiesti tra collezionisti e investitori. (Traduzione Giacomo Basso)


Sassicaia 1985 Tenuta San Guido (Toscana)



La miglior annata degli anni ’80 in Toscana è stata di gran lunga la 1985. E il miglior vino italiano dell’annata è stato il Sassicaia. Questa annata è di un'altra categoria rispetto ad ogni altra di Sassicaia, anche della leggendaria 1972. Colore moderatamente intenso, rosso rubino. Naso molto ampio e complesso, di viola, mirtilli maturi, cioccolato scuro, legno di cedro, spezie e tabacco. Al palato, di media struttura, esibisce una fresca acidità e un frutto scuro molto dolce che accompagna tannini vellutati e maturi. In bocca risulta molto concentrato, sapido e lungo. Un vino veramente elegante con abbastanza energia da maturare bene ancora per anni se non decenni.
PN



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Tasting note

color

Full and Ruby red

ending

Long and Smooth

flavors

Toasty, Smoky and Nutty

nose

Intense and Refined

recommend

Yes

taste

Concentrated, Well-structured, Complex, Full-bodied, Firm and Silky tannins

Information

Origin

Toscana, Tuscany
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