Winemaker Notes
Intense, concentrated and deep ruby-colored, this wine offers elegant, complex aromas of red fruit. In the mouth it is rich and dense, yet harmonious, with sweet, balanced tannins. The wine has a long finish with a depth and structure that ensure its extraordinary longevity.
Blend: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15%Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
One of Italy’s most iconic bottlings, the 2012 Sassicaia is drop-dead gorgeous. A blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc, it boasts sensations of blue flowers, cedar, juicy red currants, ripe raspberries, white pepper and a balsamic note. Structured, radiant and loaded with finesse, it delivers everything you’d expect from a world-class wine and more. Drink 2018–2032.
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James Suckling
Lots of lavender, minerals and black currants on the nose. Turns to black berries. Full body, ultra-refined tannins and an exquisite finish. This is all about delicacy, finesse and grace. Yet there is a solid core of ripe tannins giving it backbone and outstanding form. Better in 2017 but so delicious already. A wonderful surprise.
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Wine & Spirits
The summer of 2012 in Bolgheri was long and hot, but the cooler evening temperature allowed Sassicaia to pull in a wine that shows plenty of ripeness while retaining vibrancy and freshness. A blend of cabernet sauvignon with 15 percent cabernet franc, it shows a quiet confidence in the way it melds flavors of black currant and red raspberry with fresh thyme, toasted nuts and the black spice it picked up from two years in French oak barrels. The texture is velvety, balanced by a streak of graphite and finely etched tannins robust enough to take on a seared steak.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Tenuta San Guido 2012 Bolgheri Sassicaia stands as the outlier in this mini vertical, a wine that does not conform to the same constraints of precision and depth seen in the other vintages presented here. Shaped by a hot and dry growing season marked by scorching winds from Africa, the early-ripening 2012 benefited from sufficient winter rainfall that helped build underground moisture reserves, creating some parallels with the 2023 vintage now coming to market. The wine shows an open-knit and relaxed profile, evolved with hints of amber at the rim, yet it remains sturdy with a noticeable firmness to the tannins. This is likely the best outcome the winemaking team could hope for given the conditions, and the persistence of freshness is what continues to hold the wine together today.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
An outstanding wine region made famous by Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, who planted Cabernet Sauvignon vines for his own consumption in 1940s on his San Guido estate, and called the resulting wine, Sassicaia. Today the region’s Tuscan reds are based on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which can be made as single varietal wines or blends. The local Sangiovese can make up no more than 50% of the blends. Today Sassicaia has its own DOC designation within the Bogheri DOC appellation.