Wine Notes
2011 wasn’t a great year for Tuscany as a whole. Sassicaia did their best to create balance and complexity but they lost some of the depth and elegance along the way. Still a high quality wine but not one of the greats.
Additional Wine Notes
Because we are regularly asked Sassicaia vintage recommendations, we thought it worth putting them into some kind of order in terms of quality for current drinking.
Vintages not really drinking so well yet (but worth having in the cellar): 2018, 2014, 2017.
Immature vintages (try one, keep the rest for a while): 2016, 2011, 2015, 2010, 2013, 2012.
Mature vintages (probably at peak): 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2007, 2000, 2009, 2002.
Declining vintages (perfect for those who like maturity but losing a little fruit): 1985, 1995, 1998, 1982, 1997, 1993, 1978.
In their sunset years (principally of academic interest now): 1990, 1988, 1975, 1968, 1987, 1996, 1999, 1994, 1993, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1984, 1976.
Please don’t be mean to us if we’ve said that your favourite vintage isn’t great and please bear in mind that the older vintages tend to suffer from some bottle variation.
(We try to keep things up to date but please bear in mind that the steep recent rise in prices mean that we can’t afford to try Sassicaia vintages as often as we’d like!)
Producer Notes
The beginning of the Super Tuscan, or so the story goes: in the mid 1940’s Cabernet Sauvignon vines were planted at the Sassicaia estate in an attempt to produce a better quality Italian wine by blending it with the indigenous Sangiovese. The first commercial release in 1971 was a success and the Sassicaia name has remained synonymous with top end Super Tuscans ever since.
The vineyards are almost entirely planted with Bordeaux grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc) and some local Sangiovese. The Cabernet Franc goes into Sassicaia (around 15% of the blend, the remainder Cabernet Sauvignon), the Merlot into Guidalberto (around 40% of the blend), and the Sangiovese into Le Difese (around 30% of the blend), making them very different wines and not different quality levels of a similar wine, altough the backbone of all three is Cabernet Sauvignon.
Vintage Notes
2011 was a good, long lasting vintage in Tuscany
Other 2011 Bolgheri DOC
Other vintages of Sassicaia
1980: £480
1990: £590
1994: £350
2001: £450
2010: £320
2012: £370
2013: £340
2015: £310
2016: £460
2017: £235
2018 (in Double magnum): £2000
2018: £295
2019: £290
2021: £400
Other wines from Tenuta San Guido
2018 Le Difese: £27
2020 Guidalberto: £49
2020 Le Difese: £25
Our rating –