Sassicaia vertical

Sassicaia tasting at retailer. Wines were opened 3h ahead of tasting, and chilled bottles were half full when I arrived.

• 1998 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 92 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Sassicaia

  Forest floor on the nose, then sweet berries, some oak, coffee, still fresh due to somewhat higher acidity, tannins fully integrated, medium finish. Nice but a bit disappointing given 98 was an exceptional vintage across Tuscany

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2001 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 94 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Sassicaia

  More interesting nose than the 98 with some animal and also floral notes, much rounder and smoother on the palate than the 98 with overall better balance. Coffee, herbs, integrated tannins. Medium + finish. 93-94

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2004 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Sassicaia

  Compared to the 01 the nose is somewhat closed. Darker and sweet fruit on the palate, some nice minerality, nevertheless good structure, seems to have a touch less toast than the earlier vintages, fine to medium tannins. Medium + finish.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

• 2007 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 95 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Sassicaia

  From half bottle. No signs of the heat of the vintage, also alcohol well in check at 13.5%. Great sweet fruit but again well structured. Long finish (longer than 98/01/04). Glad I have an Imperial of this.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

• 2010 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Sassicaia

  Again this slightly animal/barnyard touch on the nose, however not as expressive as other vintages, surprisingly good balance given how young this is. A nice touch of minerality on the palate. 93+

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

• 2011 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 95 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Sassicaia

  I like the 2011 more than the 2010. This has more of the mineral touch on the palate, well integrated, bright fruit, long finish. Once again amazed how well this already drinks at this young age. Even better than last time, perhaps the longer air time helped.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

Overall I was surprised how well balanced and accessible the young Sassicaia vintages were. The older wines I found a touch less convincing, as the toast was becoming rather prominent. Not sure whether this is entirely due to the gradually fading fruit or whether there was also a change in style for Sassicaia, with less toasted and new oak being used in more recent vintages.
The main question out of all this for me is: is Sassicaia a wine that should be drunk much younger than left bank Bordeaux at similar quallity? Will have to try some older Sassicaia vintages (80s and early 90s) to get a better sense...