Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 2019
Details
Available: May 2023
100 Points | WI
“This 2019 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia is really very special. A subtle change has occurred and the typically aristocratic and elegant finesse of Sassicaia now has a little more joie de vivre. It is intense and deeply concentrated without being heavy and with very fine, beautifully integrated tannins that harmonize with the body of the wine. Carlo Paoli, MD and head of winemaking, views 2019 as “one of the great vintages of the last decades. Although it was not generous in quantity (about 15% less than in 2016), for the quality of the grapes… it is to be considered exceptional.” The winemaking team are at their peak in terms of understanding and managing the vineyards and the more extreme vintage variations they face due to climate change. The 2019 reminds me a lot of the sublime 2016 but somehow it is bolder with even more energy, vivacity, and exuberance. Drink from 2024-2050.” - Susan Hulme, The Wine Independant
100 Points | D
“Sassicaia 2019 spent 25 months in oak (one-third new). ‘We are going longer in oak in the past few years,’ said Carlo Paoli, managing director of Tenuta San Guido. Quite pale in the glass, the nose is extremely graceful and intense with a lavender note enhanced by restrained bramble fruits, fermented citrus peel, an intense violet aroma and graphite minerality in depth. The attack is soft and full, the flavor savoury and cedary through to the finish, with integrated velvety tannins and lifted acidity. A perfectly woven structure is bound with signature freshness and fruit vibrancy, making this one for the long haul.” - Aldo Fiordelli, Decanter
100 Points | D
“The 2019 Sassicaia is a truly beautiful wine. 2019 was a return to some normality in terms of the characteristics of the vintage after the cool wet and slightly humid 2018 and the hot and very dry 2017. 2019 had more regular weather patterns throughout the year. For Priscilla Incisa Della Rocchetta and the Tenuta San Guido team 2019 was one of the great vintages of the last decade, 'a fantastic growing season that one wishes to happen every year.' This wine is, of course, still very young and full of subtle, creamy oak and brilliant ripe blackberry fruit. A sort of joyful vivacity bubbles over in this wine. The wonderful thing about it, is that it already has a beautiful inner harmony with a delightful texture and weight and very finely melded, integrated tannins. It just needs time to really show its full potential.” - Decanter
99 Points + #2 "Top Cellar Selections 2022” | WE
“Enticing aromas of blue flower, cassis, camphor and spice are front and center in this stunning red. The lithe, savory palate features black currant, red plum and star anise while tobacco notes linger on the long finish. Elegant, polished tannins and bright acidity keep it beautifully balanced and focused.” - Wine Enthusiast
99 Points | JS
“The purity of cabernet sauvignon fruit is exceptional here, with character and sensibility that’s reminiscent of some of the great Sassicaias from the 1980s, such as 1982 or 1988. But this is much more precise and clean. Aromas and flavors of currants and berries with cedar and earth. Sage and minty character, too. It’s full-bodied yet there’s so much polish and balance, together with structure, elegance, and refinement. Hard not to drink at this stage, yet give it time and respect. This will be a classic Sass and reminds me why I love this wine. Try after 2026.” - James Suckling
98 Points | RP
“The latest release from Tenuta San Guido is the 2019 Bolgheri Sassicaia. The bouquet is up front and very expressive from the get-go. It offers a generous display of crunchy, dark cherry that hints at the extra concentration and fruit weight obtained in the 2019 growing season. This vintage will be remembered for the crisp richness of the fruit and its important textural imprint. It also shows fine elegance, bordering on the ethereal, with berry aromas, tarry earth and brushes of balsam herb or grilled rosemary. Sassicaia always shows an almost-glossy finely knit quality to the polished mouthfeel, and I find it again here next to fresh acidity and firm tannins. Mouthfeel in 2019 is the wine's strongest suit. The 2019 is one of the prettiest and most balanced editions of Sassicaia we've seen this past decade, along with the back-to-back duo of 2016 and 2015. The 2019 marries the precision of the 2016 with the rich fruit weight of the 2015.” - Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
100 Points | WI
“This 2019 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia is really very special. A subtle change has occurred and the typically aristocratic and elegant finesse of Sassicaia now has a little more joie de vivre. It is intense and deeply concentrated without being heavy and with very fine, beautifully integrated tannins that harmonize with the body of the wine. Carlo Paoli, MD and head of winemaking, views 2019 as “one of the great vintages of the last decades. Although it was not generous in quantity (about 15% less than in 2016), for the quality of the grapes… it is to be considered exceptional.” The winemaking team are at their peak in terms of understanding and managing the vineyards and the more extreme vintage variations they face due to climate change. The 2019 reminds me a lot of the sublime 2016 but somehow it is bolder with even more energy, vivacity, and exuberance. Drink from 2024-2050.” - Susan Hulme, The Wine Independant
100 Points | D
“Sassicaia 2019 spent 25 months in oak (one-third new). ‘We are going longer in oak in the past few years,’ said Carlo Paoli, managing director of Tenuta San Guido. Quite pale in the glass, the nose is extremely graceful and intense with a lavender note enhanced by restrained bramble fruits, fermented citrus peel, an intense violet aroma and graphite minerality in depth. The attack is soft and full, the flavor savoury and cedary through to the finish, with integrated velvety tannins and lifted acidity. A perfectly woven structure is bound with signature freshness and fruit vibrancy, making this one for the long haul.” - Aldo Fiordelli, Decanter
100 Points | D
“The 2019 Sassicaia is a truly beautiful wine. 2019 was a return to some normality in terms of the characteristics of the vintage after the cool wet and slightly humid 2018 and the hot and very dry 2017. 2019 had more regular weather patterns throughout the year. For Priscilla Incisa Della Rocchetta and the Tenuta San Guido team 2019 was one of the great vintages of the last decade, 'a fantastic growing season that one wishes to happen every year.' This wine is, of course, still very young and full of subtle, creamy oak and brilliant ripe blackberry fruit. A sort of joyful vivacity bubbles over in this wine. The wonderful thing about it, is that it already has a beautiful inner harmony with a delightful texture and weight and very finely melded, integrated tannins. It just needs time to really show its full potential.” - Decanter
99 Points + #2 "Top Cellar Selections 2022” | WE
“Enticing aromas of blue flower, cassis, camphor and spice are front and center in this stunning red. The lithe, savory palate features black currant, red plum and star anise while tobacco notes linger on the long finish. Elegant, polished tannins and bright acidity keep it beautifully balanced and focused.” - Wine Enthusiast
99 Points | JS
“The purity of cabernet sauvignon fruit is exceptional here, with character and sensibility that’s reminiscent of some of the great Sassicaias from the 1980s, such as 1982 or 1988. But this is much more precise and clean. Aromas and flavors of currants and berries with cedar and earth. Sage and minty character, too. It’s full-bodied yet there’s so much polish and balance, together with structure, elegance, and refinement. Hard not to drink at this stage, yet give it time and respect. This will be a classic Sass and reminds me why I love this wine. Try after 2026.” - James Suckling
98 Points | RP
“The latest release from Tenuta San Guido is the 2019 Bolgheri Sassicaia. The bouquet is up front and very expressive from the get-go. It offers a generous display of crunchy, dark cherry that hints at the extra concentration and fruit weight obtained in the 2019 growing season. This vintage will be remembered for the crisp richness of the fruit and its important textural imprint. It also shows fine elegance, bordering on the ethereal, with berry aromas, tarry earth and brushes of balsam herb or grilled rosemary. Sassicaia always shows an almost-glossy finely knit quality to the polished mouthfeel, and I find it again here next to fresh acidity and firm tannins. Mouthfeel in 2019 is the wine's strongest suit. The 2019 is one of the prettiest and most balanced editions of Sassicaia we've seen this past decade, along with the back-to-back duo of 2016 and 2015. The 2019 marries the precision of the 2016 with the rich fruit weight of the 2015.” - Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
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