2010 Sassicaia, Tenuta San Guido, Bolgheri Sassicaia, Tuscany, Italy

85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc.
Dark ruby. Very subtle but notably ripe nose. Understated. Dry finish and is slightly austere but very true to its origins. Tuscan claret with layers of mineral undertow! Something quite salty.
Drink 2022 - 2038

The 2010 Sassicaia was just released and it's an outstanding bottle. I think that people are going to love this newest Sass. The red is very aromatic with currant, dried berry, cocoa bean, and hints of wood. It's full-bodied, with intense yet very polished tannins and a long finish. It's very refined and beautiful with a tangy finish. The Cabernet Franc comes through here at the finish. Lively. Hard not to drink now

The 2010 Sassicaia is just beginning to show the first signs of aromatic development. Sweet tobacco, mint, pine, dried cherries and liquorice open up in the glass, but only with great reluctance. The 2010 remains a wine of striking precision and nuance, but it also has an element of classical austerity that is especially apparent today. Readers should be in no rush to drink the 2010.

Tenuta San Guido fans will find much to admire in these new releases. The entry-level Le Difese and mid-tier Guidalberto are both strong something that is not always the case), while the 2012 Sassicaia looks like it will drink well early relative to its historical track record. Sassicaia remains the most classic of the big Tuscan wines, with an emphasis on aromatic freshness and acidity that is the result of picking earlier than is common in most neighbouring properties. I was quite impressed with the wines I tasted on my most recent visit a few months ago.

Drink 2020 - 2040

85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc.

Silky and rich in colour, these wines speak of careful extraction, nothing impulsive or overdone. At six years it is just tipping over from its tight expression of youth to more open aromatics. This has a hauntingly exotic but restrained feel, with beautiful notes of leather, woodsmoke, and undergrowth, still full of heady autumnal fruit. I am crunching through October leaves, with the promise of spring and rising sage and rosemary. The lightness that comes in on the finish is striking, and yet with a persistency that hints at hidden power. Still many years ahead of it.

The 2010 Sassicaia Bolgheri Sassicaia brings back some of the brambly rosemary and wild Mediterranean brush that was missing in 2009. This will greatly appeal to enthusiasts of Sassicaia’s trademark elegance. The wine shows extreme purity that brings its many beautiful aromas into startling focus and clarity. Lingering tones of black fruit and Oriental spice add subtle shades at the back. The wine most certainly shows its pedigree in the exciting and beautifully balanced manner it evolves in the glass: It tells a new story each time you return to observe the bouquet. This is the harbinger of cellar longevity.

Drink 2018 - 2040

The 2010 vintage was another cool year, with a wet start then a hot and dry July before more rainfall in August. Picking didn't finish until 31 October. Unlike 2014, many wines in this vintage have incredible longevity, and that's the case with Sassicaia. It still displays a youthful nose of crunchy fruits and spice, with more of a red fruit character than the 2014. Somewhat austere and monolithic, it combines big acidity with structural yet streamlined tannins; its core of blackcurrant fruit takes a back seat. Herbal, dusty and earthy, it demands more time to reach its full potential. Poured from magnum.

Drink 2023 - 2050