Sassicaia 2022

Extraordinary...iconic...world renowned - these are the words most often used to describe Sassicaia and rightly so. A real gem of a wine, this is the Super-Tuscan of all Super-Tuscans! Regarded by many as the first ever Super-Tuscan wine produced, Sassicaia is wine defined by superlatives.

Absolutely delicious, this is structured, rich, profound and age-worthy. A Bordeaux blend in varieties, primarily driven by Cabernet Sauvignon (85%) and some Cabernet Franc (15%), but quintessentially Tuscan in execution and flavour. An exceptional wine, this is full of blackberry, mulberry and plum with herbaceous notes and a hint of Parma Ham layered on top. Sleek, sensuous, rich, concentrated, arrestingly vital and very, very fine.

Designed to impress and made to enjoy.

But we have TINY availability. 

The vineyards here, on the coastal edge of Tuscany, by the Tyrrhenian Sea, are rich in limestone, marl and pebbles, as well as partially clay: soils that almost exactly mirror those found in Bordeaux, hence the amazing affinity to the French region's native grape varieties.

The Marchese Incisa della Rochetta received a slap on the wrist when he first produced this wine, which broke the local conventions and laws; but, as there is no such thing as bad publicity, the clamour to try this adventurous wine drove up demand and the price, culminating in the 1986 vintage, still regarded by many as one of the greatest Italian wines. Ever.

In 1994 Sassicaia was granted its own unique DOC (Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC), the only wine from a single estate in Italy to awarded this privilege. Amazing to think that Sassicaia originally eschewed DOC labelling due to the high restrictions imposed, gained worldwide praise using the more humbler IGT classification only to be rewarded with its own DOC!   

Whilst stock is indeed limited (as with all wines made from this fabulous estate), Sassicaia is a truly wonderful wine and all the more reason to be snapped up quick!  

2022 was neither an easy nor a large vintage, but the press has been hugely impressed at the result: this is a Sassicaia that will need time in the cellar to show its true depth. Why? Primarily it is because of the higher Cabernet Sauvignon content than average making tannic structure more dense and harder to penetrate.

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate 97+ points:

“I tasted this wine several times over the course of a few months, and it has already shown a happy evolution coming into slow focus like the faint colours that emerge from a Polaroid photograph. Indeed, the bouquet appeared more closed just a short while ago. The wine's strongest suit is its elegantly streamlined mouthfeel and its contained 13.5% alcohol content. These qualities add to the silky cleanness of the mouthfeel and the accessible freshness of this vintage. I am confident that this bottle will improve with time. It requires patience.”