Sassicaia, Tenuta San Guido 2014

This is my official review of the 2014 Bolgheri Sassicaia after having been graciously invited to the estate for various barrel samples spanning back several years. I have watched the evolution of this wine with a close eye and am impressed by how its real quality is diametrically opposed to the poor expectations of this difficult vintage. The nose is redolent of bright fruit and blackberry. Spice, tar and leather appear subtly at the back. The wine took on considerable weight each year I came back to taste it and this vintage was bottled earlier than average, precisely to give it more time to unwind and relax in the small confines of the bottle. This is a solid effort for sure and the wine is a stunning example of what it takes to make great wine, even when weather conditions are not in your favor.

This is just starting to get into its stride. From a cool year, with a late start to spring and an early end to summer which generally produced lighter, earlier drinking wines, Sassicaia 2014 nonetheless rises above the noise with a fresh and juicy expression of fragrant dried fruits and moreish black berries with spicy, meaty and balsamic touches. It displays a streak of blackcurrant coulis and an aromatic note of toasted fenugreek seed on the long, gentle finish. Perhaps lacks some complexity and concentration compared to more esteemed vintages, but don't be fooled into thinking this is anything other than very good. Poured from magnum.

Aromas of red berry, blue flower, menthol, exotic spice and a whiff of French oak take shape on this impeccably balanced radiant red. The palate is vibrant and focused—almost ethereal—delivering raspberry compote, Marasca cherry, star anise and cinnamon framed in elegant tannins. Weightless and loaded with finesse, it's an incredible result for what was a cool wet vintage in most of Italy. Drink through 2024

Tasted from barrel, the 2014 Bolgheri Sassicaia is shaping up very nicely since I tasted it last year. In fact, it has made reassuring gains in terms of color density, aromatic definition and specifically textural richness. This wine will be released in 2017, but is scheduled to be bottled in November of this year (instead of January 2017) in order to allow it more time to flesh out and integrate in glass. The bouquet shows slightly rustic tones of tilled earth and spice that come on the heels of blackberry and dried cherry. The 2014 vintage is characterized by a late growing cycle. The last day of harvest was October 31. Despite the vintage challenges, primary fermentation and malolactic fermentation were executed without a hitch.