Sassicaia, Tenuta San Guido 2010

The 2010 Sassicaia was just released and it's an outstanding bottle. I think that people are going to love this newest Sass. The red is very aromatic with currant, dried berry, cocoa bean, and hints of wood. It's full-bodied, with intense yet very polished tannins and a long finish. It's very refined and beautiful with a tangy finish. The Cabernet Franc comes through here at the finish. Lively. Hard not to drink now.

The 2010 Sassicaia Bolgheri Sassicaia brings back some of the brambly rosemary and wild Mediterranean brush that was missing in 2009. This will greatly appeal to enthusiasts of Sassicaia’s trademark elegance. The wine shows extreme purity that brings its many beautiful aromas into startling focus and clarity. Lingering tones of black fruit and Oriental spice add subtle shades at the back. The wine mostly certainly shows its pedigree in the exciting and beautifully balance manner it evolves in the glass: It tells a new story each time you return to observe the bouquet. This is the harbinger of cellar longevity. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2040.

Not that deep crimson. Real class on nose - such elegance. Very light touch. Savoury tobacco-leaf nose. Lightweight. Dances along! So different from most Bordeaux now because Bordeaux has changed but Sassicaia hasn't. SO long. Such elegance.

Silky rich in colour, these wines speak of careful extraction, nothing impulsive or overdone. At six years it is just tipping over from its tight expression of youth to more open aromatics. This has a hauntingly exotic but restrained feel, with beautiful notes of leather, woodsmoke, undergrowth, still full of heady autumnal fruit. I am crunching through October leaves, with the promise of spring and of rising sage and rosemary. The lightness that comes in on the finish is striking, and yet with a persistency that hints at hidden power. Still many years ahead of it. 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc.