Bolgheri Sassicaia is a unique case in Italian wine: a DOC that can only be produced on one estate, the Tenuta San Guido of the Marchesi Incisa della Rocchetta, in Bolgheri, in the Maremma of Livorno. Created in 1994 as a subzone of the Bolgheri DOC, it became an independent appellation in 2013. Vineyards cover about 80 hectares, with an output of 3,310 hectolitres. The name comes from "sassi", stones: the soils are rich in pebbles and gravel.
How Sassicaia was born
Around the forties Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, a lover of French wines, brought some Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc cuttings from the Salviati dukes' estate at Migliarino. He had noticed a similarity between the gravelly soils of Bolgheri and those of Graves, in Bordeaux. He planted them at Tenuta San Guido, and in 1944 he obtained the first bottles. For years the wine was kept for family use, at a time when Tuscany rewarded quantity over quality. The first vintage put on sale was 1968.
The rules
The regulations require at least 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, with other red grapes to complete, usually Cabernet Franc. Minimum alcohol is 12%. The wine ages for at least two years, 18 months of it in barrique, and cannot be released before 1 January of the second year after the harvest. There is only one style: the Rosso.
In the glass Sassicaia is deep ruby, with aromas of blackcurrant, blackberry, cedar, graphite, Mediterranean herbs and spice; the tannins are fine and tight, the acidity lively, the structure built to last decades. It is considered the forerunner of the so-called Super Tuscans.
At the table
It suits game and intensely flavoured dishes, in particular roast pigeon, fillet Bordelaise and strong cheeses. A simple, classic pairing: walnuts and raw porcini mushrooms dressed with a few drops of oil and some aromatic herbs. To discover the rest of the area, the Bolgheri DOC gathers the coast's other wines.
