Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 1995 — Bolgheri, 0.75 L

Sassicaia in 1995 and today

Sassicaia became a subzone of the Bolgheri DOC in 1994, so the 1995 was made under that status. It has had its own denomination only since 2013, when Bolgheri Sassicaia became an autonomous DOC reserved for one wine from one estate. Current rules require at least 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and at least 18 months in 225-litre barriques. The rules also cap yield at 7 tonnes per hectare and 2 kg per vine, and the production zone lies between 100 and 360 m above sea level on marl, gabbro and pebbles with limestone and clay.

Mario Incisa della Rocchetta planted the first Cabernet Sauvignon on the estate in the early 1940s, with cuttings going in at Castiglioncello di Bolgheri in 1944. The first Sassicaia vintage was 1968, released in 1971; earlier wines were made for the family’s own use. Mario had received the 2,500-hectare estate as a dowry in 1930, on marrying Clarice della Gherardesca. In 1978 the 1972 placed first among 33 wines from 11 countries at a tasting.