2023 SASSICAIA Tenuta San Guido Incisa della Rocchetta, Lea & Sandeman

SASSICAIA

2023 Tenuta San Guido Incisa della Rocchetta

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

Very few vintages of this legendary Tuscan wine deliver the immediate joy, richness and complexity found in the Tenuta San Guido 2023 Bolgheri Sassicaia. Tasted both before and after its January 2026 bottling, this is a wine that feels uncannily open and generous in its youth, a rare trait for Sassicaia, which is famously inscrutable at this stage. The 2023 vintage was marked by a cold winter and above-average rainfall followed by a severe outbreak of downy mildew that damaged leaves, forcing brutal fruit selection and resulting in a 20% reduction in yields. Only the estates willing to make these sacrifices succeeded, and the best wines rank among the most compelling and elusive of recent years.

The blend includes 13% to 14% Cabernet Franc alongside Cabernet Sauvignon, with the Franc playing a decisive phenolic role that reinforces elegance, linearity and brightness. Aromas unfold with wild sage, rosemary and dark fruit before moving into crushed stone minerality, rose petal and a finely spiced spectrum of pink peppercorn, nutmeg, anise, cardamom, bergamot and blood orange, joined by a delicate note of mentuccia romana, sweeter and gentler than classic mint. The palate shows beautiful softness framed by chalky tannins and mineral tension. Its acidity shines bright and guarantees long cellar aging potential. The wine remains fluid and flexible in the glass as different facets of the bouquet emerge. Like the legendary 1985, 2023 was a difficult and stressful vintage shaped by a cold winter, yet it stands as proof that great pressure can indeed give birth to diamonds.

There are great vintages that produce iconic wines, difficult vintages that yield compromised results and, on rare occasions, underdog vintages that exceed all expectations. The 2023 growing season at Tenuta San Guido is a case in point.

Given all the bad news surrounding the 2023 season—the frost, the rain and the downy mildew—I approached the vintage with a healthy dose of skepticism. Those doubts, however, were emphatically dispelled during two visits to Tenuta San Guido in Bolgheri: first in December 2025, before bottling, and again in January 2026, after bottling, to taste the 2023 Sassicaia.

What I discovered was a magnificent wine that excels in intensity, focus and balance. Most importantly, it is profoundly delicious, drawing you in until the last drop.

“The vintage can be summed up in three key words: fruit, salinity and length,” said Tenuta San Guido General Manager Carlo Paoli during our December 2025 tasting. Drinking range: 2027 - 2060 Rating: 100 Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate (www.robertparker.com) (Jan 2026)


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The 2023 harvest gave rise to a wine that interprets with finesse the vocation of the vineyards of Tenuta San Guido. “The strength of our work lies in the ability to safeguard an identity without crystallising it. Every vintage forces us to question ourselves again. The 2023 vintage was managed with great attention, requiring precise choices both in the vineyard and in the cellar. The wine that results reflects this work: precise, balanced, and consistent with the Estate’s style, yet with a character that belongs only to this harvest,” says Carlo Paoli, Head of Winemaking at Tenuta San Guido.

The soils lie within the production area of the Bolgheri Sassicaia D.O.C. They display diverse and complex morphological characteristics, with calcareous zones rich in galestro, as well as stones and pebbles (from which the wine takes its name), and partially clay-rich areas. The vineyards are located at an average altitude between 100 and 400 metres above sea level, with a West/South-West exposure.

The season in brief
The 2023 vintage was marked by a balanced climate, with frequent and well-distributed rainfall throughout spring and early summer, ensuring an adequate water supply in the soils. The preceding autumn recorded temperatures above the seasonal average, while the winter—generally mild—saw its coldest period between late December and mid-February. Budbreak occurred regularly after March 20. Persistent rains during flowering and fruit set led to a moderate reduction in yields yet favoured well-shaped clusters with lower berry density. Summer brought no unusual conditions; July’s high temperatures were mitigated by water reserves and ventilation, supported by targeted canopy protection measures. August alternated warm phases with Atlantic origin rainfall, slowing technical ripening to the benefit of phenolic development.

The harvest
The hand harvest began on September 4 and concluded on October 5. It progressed gradually, without the need to rush, following the evolution of each parcel and variety: starting with the younger vineyards and ending with those on the higher hillsides.The grapes arrived in the cellar healthy and intact, showing an excellent balance between technical and phenolic maturity. The marked day–night temperature variation enhanced the aromatic profile and phenolic ripeness, and allowed harvesting to proceed calmly, prioritising the cooler hours of the day.

The wine: After a meticulous selection of the grapes, alcoholic fermentation took place in stainless steel at controlled temperatures (max 28–29°C), without the addition of external yeasts but, as customary, using estate selected yeasts. Macerations proceeded smoothly, allowing a balanced extraction of polyphenols, resulting in noble, well ripened tannins. During maceration, the winemaking team carried out frequent pump overs with aeration to remove excess CO₂ and support yeast activity.
Malolactic fermentation occurred spontaneously, finishing toward the end of October. After a series of rackings to ensure maximum clarity of the musts, the wine was transferred into barriques, beginning the ageing period according to Tenuta San Guido’s established protocol.

First Vintage 1968
Blend 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc
Fermentation Stainless steel at controlled temperature (max 28–29°C)
Wood ageing 24 months in barrique (40% new, 40% first fill, 20% second fill)
Bottle ageing 3/6 months
Technical data: Alcohol content: 14%; pH: 3.45 - Total acidity: 6.20l.Winemaker's notes (Feb 2026)

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.

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