"...a magnificent wine that excels in intensity, focus and balance. Most importantly, it is profoundly delicious, drawing you in until the last drop."  (ML) Wine Advocate, on Sassicaia 2023

“The vintage can be summed up in three key words: fruit, salinity and length,” - Tenuta San Guido General Manager Carlo Paoli 

Friday morning sees the first release of the 2023 vintage from Tuscan wine legend Sassicaia, along with its little siblings, 2024 Guidalberto and Le Difese, all from the Tenuta San Guido estate on Tuscany's Bolgheri coast.  With a 100-point score from The Wine Advocate, the 2023 sits alongside great vintages of the last decade, such as 2021 and 2016, and collectors will wish to have this new release in their cellars.

The 2023 growing season began with a cold front on December 20, bringing rain and wind. The extended winter cold that followed through much of January and February ensured proper vine dormancy.  March was warmer and wetter, but on April 3 and 4, a severe frost saw temperatures of -4 degrees C, damaging those vines that had already experienced budbreak.  Spring continued with frequent rain and below-average temperatures.  Rising humidity and temperatures created ideal conditions for downy mildew, which decimated vineyards in Chianti Classico, Montalcino, and parts of Bolgheri.

July and August then saw scorching temperatures, exceeding those of 2022, but lasting for shorter periods.  Rain on August 11 helped to relieve vine stress and allowed phenolic ripeness to develop alongside sugar ripeness, producing deeply-coloured berries.  The final blend for the 2023 was 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Cabernet Franc, aged for 23 months in French oak, of which 40% was new. 

In our experience tasting both recent and historic vintages of this great wine, it has consistently surprised us with its remarkable freshness, elegance, and understated classical proportions...think fresh, cooling sea breezes, rather than blazing sun and high temperatures.  

Where Sassicaia's blend is based on the Cabernets, Guidalberto balances 55% Cabernet Sauvignon with 45% Merlot, planted on clay and silt-rich soils, producing an inherently broader wine with more rounded shoulders, approachable when young but also capable of ageing for at least 15 years. 

'Le Difese' is named after the tusks of the wild boar (pictured on the label) that live in the woods around many vineyards in Tuscany, making occasional raids into the vineyards close to harvest time to eat the fruit.  The blend is made up of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Tenuta San Guido estate and Sangiovese from the Chianti Rufina region.  

Sassicaia will be offered on allocation.  Pricing will be released on Friday 6th February.  Please send us your expressions of interest in advance, by email, to sales@richardkihl.ltd.uk.

Offered in bond, expected in the UK in June 2026.  Stocks of older vintages also shown below.