SASSICAIA: the Italian wine that made history
Bolgheri Sassicaia Doc, Tenuta San Guido, Castagneto Carducci
The name of this wine is today a celeb, but how many of you know its story?
The main character of this story is Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, a man with noble origins from Piedmont, who decided to move in Bolgheri (Tuscany) in the second post-war period to marry Clarice, who brought as marriage settlement 600 hectares of land and about 10 small farms. In Bolgheri the dream of Mario Incisa della Rocchetta became true.
He was very fond of horses and wines, especially French wines. So he decided to use is knowledge in vine-growing and agricolture to create a masterpiece wine: Sassicaia.
A wine born as an experiment
The "Tenuta San Guido" was born as a prestigious horse farm (the celeb horse Ribot spent a time there). Around 1940, Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, a man of a singular vision, understood the vocation of this land of Bolgheri to produce a great wine, able to compete with the rich and structured french red wine of Bordeaux. He noticed a similarity with the pebbly soil of Bolgheri, and the Graves in Bordeaux, where cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc gave great results. So he decided to make this experiment: he planted a few of cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc vines to produce an Italian wine using the Bordeaux cut.
In 1944 he bottled the first bottles of Sassicaia, used at the beginning only as the wine of the family (not commercialised). Sassicaia is born as a table wine.
Mario Incisa della Rocchetta improved in the years the quality of Sassicaia, letting it aging for a period before drinking it. Moreover, he accepted the help of Giacomo Tachis, the enologist of the Antinori Family. Finally in 1972 Sassicaia (1968 vintage) was ready to join the wine market with its iconic label: a golden windrose on a blue field.
In 2013 Bolgheri Sassicaia became a DOC: the first wine produced by a single winery to obtain this recognition. The mention Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC can be used only by Tenuta San Guido to produce the Sassicaia wine (no other wineries can use this appellation).
Sassicaia 2015 the best wine of the world
In 2018 Wine Spectator, the most important magazine of the enology sector, awarded Bolgheri Sassicaia 2015 as the best wine of the world, giving 97/100 score.
Sassicaia 2015: tasting and food pairing
85% Cabernet Sauvignon - 15% Cabernet Franc
The grapes of cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc are harvested and vinificated separately. Then they are blended by the cellar master. Wine fermentation in steel at a controlled temperature with a skin contact of about ten days. Refinement in french oak barrique for 24 months and then a rest in the bottle.
The wine is intense ruby red, with scents of ripe red fruits, wild fruits, aromatic herbs and toasted almonds. In the palate the wine is rich and compact, great body and good acidity. Dried fruits taste at the end, long-lasting sip.
Sassicaia is perfect to pair with plate of red meat or game. The suggestion is to open the vintage of 2015 in 5 / 6 years.
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