2016 SASSICAIA Bolgheri Tenuta San Guido Incisa della Rocchetta, Lea & Sandeman

SASSICAIA

2016 Bolgheri Tenuta San Guido Incisa della Rocchetta

Grapes Cab Sauv, Cab Franc
Colour Red
Origin Italy, Tuscany
District Bolgheri
ABV 14%

The 2016 Sassicaia is one of the most powerful, imposing young Sassicaias I can remember tasting. Explosive and vibrant with stunning depth, the 2016 possesses off-the-charts aromatic intensity, richness and structure, all in a mid-weight style that is so distinctive. Plum, lavender, rose petal, spice and mint all build into the explosive, deep finish in this potent wine. Drinking range: 2024 - 2041 Rating: 97 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Mar 2020)


Alternatively, we may well have some bottles in one of our shops - why not give us a call on 0207 244 0522 or send an email to: sales@leaandsandeman.co.uk.

Or, check the RELATED PRODUCTS below for different vintages or wines of a similar style.


Subtle and complex aromas of blackcurrants, fresh herbs, lavender, rosemary and oyster shell. Some moss, too. Very perfumed. Full-bodied yet integrated with refined tannins that melt into the palate. Extremely classy and polished. Hard not to drink now. Try after 2021, when the tannins will have integrated even better in the wine. Drinking range: 2021 - Rating: 97 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Jun 2019)

A rich, black cherry and black currant–flavored red, accented by cedar, wild herb and spice notes, this is supple and vibrant, with a lingering aftertaste of fruit and an emerging mineral element. Firms up nicely on the finish. Hard to keep from enjoying this now, but it will develop nicely with age. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Drinking range: 2021 - 2043 Rating: 97 Bruce Sanderson, The Wine Spectator (May 2019)

The 2016 Sassicaia is a wine of soaring achievement. I tasted this wine several times during the course of its creation in both barrel and bottle, and the highly deserved 100-point score you see here was enthusiastically assigned at the conclusion of a mini vertical in which I tasted and compared the 2016 vintage against 2015 (which I scored 97 points). It makes perfect sense to present these two excellent vintages in back-to-back comparison fashion because they are two of the best to emerge from Bolgheri, and indeed Tenuta San Guido, in recent memory. These are very similar vintages with long, hot summer months that fuelled a long growing season. There was a bit more rain in 2016, and in analytical terms this vintage has a tad more acidity. However, the results in the glass are extraordinarily different. The 2015 vintage is exuberant, round, succulent and immediate, whereas the 2016 vintage shows pinpoint sharpness and precision (with similar grit and texture at the back). That acidity will carry it long into the future as the wine completes its slow evolutionary course. This wine is chiselled and sharp with blackberry, ripe cherry, grilled herb and barbecue spice. The aromas flow from the glass in a continuous stream and are all marked by radiant intensity. The mouthfeel is long and powerful. The crisp linearity of the wine's tannic backbone is perfectly measured to the volume and depth of the fruit flavours. To my mind, the 2016 Sassicaia stands tall next to the epic 1985 vintage that set the ultimate benchmark for vino Italiano. Drinking range: 2021 - 2050 Rating: 100 Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate (www.robertparker.com) (Jan 2019)

Tenuta San Guido Incisa della Rocchetta

Sassicaia is the only single estate wine in Italy with its own appellation - Bolgheri Sassicaia. It was the original "Super Tuscan" and is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc, aged for 24 months in French barriques, of which these days ony 20% are new. Mario Incisa della Rochetta, part of a grand old Italian family who's roots extend back to the Renaissance and beyond, and cousin of the Antinoris, married Clarice della Gherardesca in 1930 and with his wife came some land in Bolgheri. The story of Sassicaia was just beginning. Mario dreamed of making a wine like the grand vins of Bordeaux and, noticing a similarity between his Bolgheri vineyards and those of the Graves, decided to plant some Cabernet Sauvignon. In the early years the wine was just for consumption on the estate and was not always well appreciated. Fortunately, a few cases were put away to age with each vintage and, once time had worked its magic, it became clear that these were wines that only truly showed their majesty with a few years in bottle. The first vintage released for commercial sale was the 1968 and it transformed Tuscan wine and has given rise to a host of imitators and rivals. Sassicaia is now revered, not only as one of the best wines in Italy, but as one of the best wines in the world.

This wine isn't currently part of a mixed case, but you can always browse our full selection of mixed cases here.
  • For full delivery details see our Delivery page.
  • We offer free nationwide* delivery for all orders over £150 with our own vans. We also offer an express delivery service for an additional charge.
  • Order & Collect from any of our 5 London shops. Order by Midnight for collection the next working day from 11am.
  • Private wine storage: we offer a full In Bond and Duty Paid private wine storage service - find out more here.

RELATED PRODUCTS

ORDER     COLLECT

ORDER ONLINE AND COLLECT FROM ONE OF OUR SHOPS