Sassicaia is Tenuta San Guido’s flagship Cabernet, the wine that put Bolgheri on the world map. Its name means “place of stones,” a nod to the gravelly, well-drained soils that shape its cool, mineral line. Cabernet Sauvignon leads, with a smaller share of Cabernet Franc, and the blend is tailored to the season. Recognised for its singular identity, Sassicaia carries its own appellation—Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC—granted in 2013, a rare distinction for a single-estate wine in Italy.
The vineyards lie between roughly 100 and 360 metres above sea level, flanked by Mediterranean woodland and open to maritime breezes from the Tyrrhenian. Soils mix limestone, clay and sand threaded with pebbles and stones, naturally checking vigour and preserving acidity. Fruit is harvested by hand and vinified by parcel, keeping lots separate to preserve nuance before the final blend brings structure and perfume into balance.
Winemaking is classical and restrained. Gentle extraction aims for fine, long-chain tannins rather than bulk, and maturation takes place in French oak barriques—new wood used judiciously as a frame, not a flavour. Time in barrel (typically around 18–24 months, flexing with the vintage) is followed by further bottle ageing before release, so the wine arrives composed even in powerful years.
In the glass, Sassicaia is about proportion and poise: cassis and blackberry layered with violet, graphite and cedar, a cool, savoury core and a long, finely etched finish. Oak reads as polish and texture rather than toast, and the best bottles carry a subtle iodine and Mediterranean-herb complexity that speaks of place. Serve at 16–18 °C; young vintages benefit from a brief decant to unfurl the mid-palate and lift the aromatics.
Cellaring is part of its design. Most releases show well from 5–7 years after the harvest, then build secondary notes—tobacco, cedar, truffle—through 12–20 years in strong seasons. Warmer vintages bring plusher black fruit and broader shoulders; cooler, longer seasons emphasise line, lift and mineral detail. However you catch it, Sassicaia remains the benchmark for elegant, age-worthy Cabernet on Italy’s coast: powerful, precise and unmistakably shaped by stone and sea.
