A Pioneering Super Star – Tenuta San Guido’s Sassicaia
Craig Buckland, Fine Wine Journal Editor
The iconic star at the centre of the Sassicaia label doesnot only represent a family emblem, but it also links to the Stellone d’Italia(Star of Italy), an ancient symbol which would supposedly protect the nation. Today it could be argued that this symbol now signifies creativity, defiance and innovation. Despite being less than 50 years old, Sassicaia’s significance on Italy’s - and the worlds - oenological history is without a doubt one of the most important in the past century. The now iconic wine is single-handedly responsible for launching the Super Tuscan movement and remains one of the most highly sought-after wines in the world.
An ideal terroir
Before Sassicaia was first released, it was unheard of to produce a wine crafted from Bordeaux vines on Italian soil, especially in a region that had not yet been viticulturally established. Despite an abundance of successful vineyards already located in Tuscany, the area of Bolgheri was exposed to sea winds and salty air which producers thought would create wines of a lesser quality. More importantly, the DOC and DOCG viticultural laws restricted the use of certain grape varieties, therefore limiting the potential of the Bolgheri terroir.
The Tenuta San Guido estate was established by Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, who had the vision, confidence and defiance to plant forbidden varieties on this unique site. In the Tuscan dialect Sassicaia actually means ‘stony ground’, which refers to the gravelly soil of its vineyards, similar to those found in the Médoc and Graves – therefore an ideal terroir for the Bordeaux varieties that were planted on the estate. The first cuttings of Cabernet Sauvignon were planted in 1948, originally used to produce the personal wine for the Marchese and his family. It was rumoured that these cuttings came from legendary Bordeaux estate Château Lafite-Rothschild, however this was dismissed by Mario's son, Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta, who declared the vineyard was planted from cuttings from 50-year-old vines from a friend’s estate near Pisa.
[Above: the vineyards at Tenuta San Guido]
Striving for perfection
Harvesting is all done by hand, which only yield 5-6 tonnes of grapes per hectare, ensuring that each vine produces the finest fruit. When the vineyards expanded to 75 hectares in the 1960s, a new winery was built near the church of San Guido. The estate took this opportunity to introduce new equipment, such as temperature-controlled stainless steel vats for separate fermentation of individual plots. They also began using small French oak barriques, of which a third are renewed each year, to age the wine for 20 months. The wine is then further aged in bottle in the Tenuta San Guido cellars for 6 months before being released for sale.
Despite the international recognition and appreciation of Sassicaia as one of the greatest wines in the world, it would be easy for the Tenuta San Guido winery to drop the ball, sacrificing the quality to meet demand. However, nothing could be further from the truth. The philosophy here is to make exceptional wine that displays the individual character of the vintage from their unique terroir and ultimately the best grapes.
Following the 1994 vintage, Sassicaia’s success eventually prompted the Italian government to grant the wine its own appellation, Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC - what higher plaudits could one ask for?
Be sure to keep an eye out for the latest release of Sassicaia. We anticipate it will be released within the next few days and that it will be highly sought-after. Please contact us immediately to register your interest in an allocation.
