Sassicaia 1985 – Tenuta San Guido

Robert Parker in 2014: “The wine that took my breath away was Sassicaia 1985. It is one of the greatest wines produced in the world, and the best of 1985. It has 50-75 years of aging potential.”

Quietly and elegantly, the Incisa della Rocchetta family set out to release a wine that would revolutionise the Italian wine scene, creating an entirely new genre: The Super Tuscan. Tenuta San Guido is now a legendary estate. It was first planted in the 1940s by Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, who noticed the similarity between Bolgheri’s terroir and that of the Graves. In 1968, Sassicaia was commercially released. It took the fine wine world by storm, solidifying its iconic status. In 1994, it was granted its own appellation: Bolgheri Sassicaia DOCG.

Sassicaia & Tenuta San Guido

In the 1920s, Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta dreamed of creating a “thoroughbred” wine. For him, as for many of the aristocracy at the time, the ideal was Bordeaux. In the 1940s, he and his wife Clarice settled on the Tenuta San Guido on the Tyrrhenian coast. There, he experimented with several French grape varieties and concluded that Cabernet Sauvignon had “the bouquet I was looking for.”

A wine made mainly from Cabernet Sauvignon was a significant departure from Tuscany and Piedmont’s traditional use of Sangiovese and Nebbiolo. Marchese Mario decided to plant this variety at Tenuta San Guido partly because he noticed the similarity between the Tuscan terrain and that of Graves in Bordeaux. “Graves” (meaning “gravel” in French) refers to the rocky terrain that defines Bordeaux. Similarly, the gravely vineyards in Tuscany give Sassicaia the same characteristics as its cherished French counterpart: “stony ground.”

The Marchese’s first vintages were not well received. Critics, accustomed to lighter, local wines, were not encouraging. They didn’t understand that wines made from the complex Cabernet Sauvignon grape needed time to mature. From 1948 to 1967, Sassicaia remained a private wine, only consumed at Tenuta San Guido. Each year, a few cases were stored in the Castiglioncello di Bolgheri cellar. Over time, the Marchese realized that aging the wine significantly improved its quality.

Friends and relatives urged Mario Incisa to continue experimenting and perfecting his revolutionary winemaking style. Finally, in 1968, Sassicaia was commercially released. The reception was fitting for a Bordeaux Premier Cru. Over the following years, the cellar moved to a temperature-controlled location, steel fermentation vats replaced wooden vats, and French barriques were introduced for aging.