Wine Advisor
Tenuta San Guido, Sassicaia Bolgheri 2009
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Description
Sasssicaia have property that stretches over 2,500 hectares, chosen to select and plant vineyards exclusively on the most suitable lands, covering just a small area of the total surface. An area that is unique in terms of soil type, microclimate, and exposure that deserves its own appellation: DOC Bolgheri Sassicaia. The 1968 vintage saw the debut of Sassicaia, a courageous wine that at the time, broke away from the standard way of making Tuscan Wine. The wine is named after the stony soil which it comes from, and, by its nature, is destined to go far, to mark the boundaries between the different crops. Its ornamental value, with the tall cypresses running in double rows, came after that.
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
Showing a heavier gait, the 2009 Bolgheri Sassicaia is a bold and determined wine that boasts rich extraction and a substantial phenolic base. I’m told that this is one of the richest expressions ever produced and it definitely shows. Brooding and muscular, this Sassicaia reveals broad shoulders and deep footprints. On the nose, it offers heavy aromas of dark fruit, plum, blackberry, leather, spice, tobacco and grilled herb. At the back are tarry notes of resin and smoke. This vintage saw a stunning set of ideal conditions ranging from a humid spring that built water reserves, a hot summer that kept ripening on track and a cool pre-harvest period with deep shifts between day and nighttime temperatures for pronounced aromas. The wine shows substantial richness and opulence with well-managed tannins and pretty bursts of freshness. There is still a lot of life left within to carry it forward throughout the years.
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
The 2009 Bolgheri Sassicaia is the richest and darkest edition in recent memory. This super-charged Sassicaia boasts enormous power and concentration thanks to its impressive phenolic foundation. Black currant and blackberry confit are followed by spice, leather, tar, road paving and black truffle. It shows preliminary tertiary signs with licorice and crushed mineral. The wine wraps thickly over the palate delivering tight textural firmness and integrated structure. You taste the sweetness of the fruit and the depth of the oak tannins. No matter how you approach it, this wine scores very high on the intensity meter. For the record: Tenuta San Guido General Manager Carlo Paoli expressed concern about the integrity of his sample, but I remained extremely pleased by the gorgeous wine before me.
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
Rich and silky, the 2009 Bolgheri Sassicaia offers a powerful rendition of this celebrated wine from coastal Tuscany. The wine opens to dark color saturation and thick aromatic layering that reveals a solid core of black fruit. That fruit is well preserved in terms of its freshness and overall integrity. It will serve the wine well as it evolves over the next two decades. Beyond those dark fruit nuances are delicate embellishments of spice, licorice and balsam herb that add to the wine's evident complexity. In terms of its overall richness, the 2009 vintage of Bolgheri Sassicaia can be compared to 2013, 2011 and 2004.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2009 Sassicaia is unusually big, rich and opulent. Layers of fruit saturate the palate as the 2009 explodes from the glass with a heady melange of dark berries, plums, menthol, licorice and new leather. This is an especially racy Sassicaia. Readers who enjoy the classicism of Sassicaia are likely to find the 2009 too rich, especially at this early stage. The wine needs at least a few years in bottle to drop some of its baby fat. Despite its huge fruit, the 2009 is also pretty closed down and not anywhere close to being ready to show off its pedigree. Sassicaia is arguably Italy’s most famous wine, so it’s always great when it lives up to its reputation. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2039. If the entry-level wines are any indication, vintage 2010 wasn’t easy at Tenuta San Guido. Among the more affordable wines, readers should focus on vintages 2006-2009, which are more consistent. It will be interesting to see where the 2010 Sassicaia comes out next year. In the meantime, the 2009 Sassicaia is compelling. Importer: Kobrand Corp., Purchase, NY; tel. (914) 253-7756
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2009 Sassicaia is unusually big, rich and opulent. Layers of fruit saturate the palate as the 2009 explodes from the glass with a heady mélange of dark berries, plums, menthol, licorice and new leather. This is an especially racy Sassicaia. Readers who enjoy the classicism of Sassicaia are likely to find the 2009 too rich, especially at this early stage. The wine needs at least a few years in bottle to drop some of its baby fat. Despite its huge fruit, the 2009 is also pretty closed down and not anywhere close to being ready to show off its pedigree. Sassicaia is arguably Italy's most famous wine, so it's always great when it lives up to its reputation.
Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
(80% cabernet sauvignon and 20% cabernet franc): Bright full ruby. Pure, perfumed aromas of blackberry, cassis, lead pencil, violet and minerals, complicated by a superripe note of crushed raspberry. Extremely primary and pure, offering sharply defined cassis, violet and mineral flavors of great class. The perfectly integrated acidity and a vibrant floral character from the cabernet franc give the middle palate terrific lift. Though very ripe in its flavor profile, this wine conveys a rare lightness of touch that is typical of Sassicaia but rare for this vintage on the Tuscan Coast. Finishes with noble tannins and outstanding palate-staining length. For all its creamy power and charm, I really like this wine's balance and the subtle delivery of its complex flavors. I have tasted every vintage of Sassicaia on countless occasions and, other than the legendary 1985, I have no doubt that this is one of the two or three best Sassicaias at a similar stage of development. Though the 2009 won't surpass the once-in-a-lifetime 1985, it is starting out its life in bottle with almost the same perfectly balanced, opulent creamy texture and depth of that incredible wine, which I remembertasting both in Rome and in Tuscanyimmediately upon release. In fact, that wine was so good that even thoughI was still auniversity student (and thus on a studentbudget), it was the firsttime in my lifeI ever bought a full case. If I were a university student today, I'd do the same with the 2009, even though the price of Sassicaia is far higher today. There's profound potential here, but younger wine writers and consumers who weren't seriously involved in tasting back in the '80s may well be surprised by this wine's voluptuous, atypically opulent texture and thus miss its sheer greatness.
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
The Tenuta San Guido 2009 Bolgheri Sassicaia showed marked concentration upon its initial release and was widely regarded as one of the richest expressions in the estate’s modern history. Today, the wine is in a beautiful place, offering intense fruit with blackcurrant, tobacco and savory notes that follow the classic Sassicaia blueprint but place greater emphasis on volume and texture, a profile that invites comparison with the 2023 vintage. The 2009 remains full and generous on the palate, yet what sets it apart is the striking freshness of the vintage, outpacing both 2012 and 2011 in terms of energy and lasting liveliness. This wine continues to get better every time I've been lucky enough to taste it.
About the Producer
Tenuta San Guido is located in the seaside area of Bolgheri in Toscana, Italy. The Sassicaia wine produced by the winery is known as the king of wine in Italy and enjoys the reputation of "Italian Lafite". Marquis Mario (Mario Incisa della Rocchetta) is the founder of the San Guito winery. He loves fine wine, horse racing and environmental protection, and has always dreamed of making a wine of excellent quality, an Italian wine that can swept the upper class. Well, it's Bordeaux style. In the 1940s, Marquis Mario and his wife came to live in the winery of San Guito. The innovation of "the first person to eat crabs". Winery San Guito made Sicilian wines from 1948 until the mid-1960s, but it was only consumed in-house. 1968 was a year to remember. This year, the ever-improving Cissicaia was launched for the first time. In the international blind tasting competition that year, Cissicaia’s excellent performance shocked the entire wine world, and its popularity was comparable to that of the top wineries in Bordeaux. Sanguito Winery's vineyard covers an area of 173 acres (about 70 hectares), all located in the DOC production area of Siciia, and the garden is planted with 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc. The average age of the vines is 25-30 years, the planting density is 4,000-5,000 vines/ha, and the average yield is 1 kg/plant. Winemaking at San Guito Winery takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel barrels that hold between 3,500 liters and 11,000 liters. The dipping time is approximately 2 weeks. Aged for 2 years in 33% new French oak barrels with a capacity of 225 liters. The main wine produced by San Guito Winery is San Guito Winery Xishijiaya dry red wine. This wine is one of the most famous Italian wines, made with Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Recent good years include: 2000, 1998, 1997, 1993, 1990, 1988, 1985, 1982, 1978 and 1975.
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