TENUTA SAN GUIDO 'Sassicaia' - Bolgheri, Tuscany 2018 DOUBLE MAGNUM (300cl) in Wooden Case

Description

The 2018 Sassicaia is a remarkable vintage, showcasing a delightful balance of elegance and complexity. Wine Enthusiast awarded it 98 points, highlighting its radiant aromas of cedar, wild red berries, menthol, and pipe tobacco, combined with a vibrant and savoury palate that features cassis and hints of coffee. The Wine Advocate rated it 97+ points, praising its crystalline and pure delivery, with intriguing notes of plummy fruit, chocolate, and spices. James Suckling also scored it 97 points, noting serene aromas of sweet berries and a silky texture with bright acidity. Vinous and Decanter both gave it 97 points, emphasizing its poise and finesse. This vintage represents a significant milestone in Sassicaia's history, showcasing the estate's consistent quality.

*****

With this classic and cooler vintage, Sassicaia has reached a level that no one else in Bolgheri has obtained yet. The nose is closed but precise, delicately perfumed with nuances of violet and peony, cherries and mulberries, minerality, purity and precision. The bouquet is already open, evolving constantly and delivering so much complexity and grace. Delicate and subtle in texture on the palate, it is lithe and precise, with great freshness. The silky and powdery tannic structure provide a lingering finish. This is a very touching wine, charismatic and energetic, a vintage that will sit amongst the very greatest from this iconic winery. Drink from 2023. Nicolas Clerc MS

WINE ENTHUSIAST 98 points
All about radiance and finesse, this iconic Tuscan red has beguiling aromas of cedar, wild red berry, menthol and pipe tobacco that mingle with fragrant blue flowers. Made with 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc, the focused, elegantly structured palate is vibrant and savory, delivering cassis, orange zest, licorice and a hint of coffee framed in taut, polished tannins. Bright acidity keeps it energized and balanced. Drink through 2033. — Kerin O’Keefe

THE WINE ADVOCATE 97+ points
“This is a classic vintage of an Italian icon now celebrating its 50th vintage. The Tenuta San Guido 2018 Bolgheri Sassicaia lays out a familiar blueprint that borrows from the proven track record of this landmark estate that extends into the hills just beyond the Tyrrhenian shores of Tuscany. This vintage is crystalline and pure in its delivery, and if you are familiar with previous editions, it is impossible to mistake this wine for anything but Sassicaia. The growing season started off cool and wet but turned to warm and dry conditions comfortably before the harvest. Cabernet Sauvignon with Cabernet Franc in a supporting role deliver a graceful mid-weight texture that holds back style-wise in terms of phenolic density. The wine’s careful balance is achieved thanks to the nuanced character of the fruit, the present acidity, the well-managed structure and the contained alcohol. The palate is lifted and bright, the finish is polished and long, and the wine skips over any heaviness on the mid-palate. The bouquet is especially intriguing with a very lively plummy fruit element that is enhanced by baker’s chocolate, pepper spice, iron ore, caramel and pie crust. There is also a green character that adds positively to the bouquet with aniseed, tea leaf, soya, menthol rub and black olive. The fruit maturity is spot-on with no elements that feel over or underripe. Overall, the 2018 Sassicaia weighs in with a svelte frame and long persistence. Moreover, it is distinguished by the archetypal elegance and pedigree of the classic vintages of the past. This new release gives you much pleasure to await.” Monica Larner

JAMES SUCKLING 97 points
“Beautiful, serene aromas of sweet berries and wild flowers with light lavender and fresh sage. Really aromatic. A firm, silky red with medium to full body and ultra fine tannins that are polished and beautiful. Lots of blue fruit and blackberries follow through to a beautiful finish. Really tight and polished. Bright acidity. Will be lovely to drink in a few years. The 2017 and 2016 were about power, but the 2018 is about finesse and subtlety. Try after 2024.”

VINOUS 97 points
“The 2018 Sassicaia is fabulous. Bright and beautifully poised, the 2018 opens with brilliant aromatics that make a strong first impression. Delicate and light on its feet, the 2018 is a regal wine that is going to need a number of years to come into its own. Sassicaia is the most finessed of Bolgheri’s top wines. That is very much the case in 2018 as well. I loved it...The year favored the estate’s oldest vineyards, those on hillside sites. The 2018 spent 19 months in oak, two-thirds new, a bit more new oak than the norm..” Antonio Galloni,

DECANTER 97points
Blind tasted by Aldo Fiordelli(at Consorzio di Tutela Bolgheri e Bolgheri Sassicaia, 29 Jun 2021)
Part of Bolgheri 2018 vintage report: Graceful wines suitable for the long haul
This is the fiftieth Sassicaia, representing a milestone for Italian winemaking and viticulture. Restrained cassis aromas with hints of kiwi peel, dried herbs and eucalyptus leading up to citrus notes and juicy acidity. Few months ago, at the release, this acidity was still quite aggressive and chewy, while now it is fragrant and integrated with refined tannins in a finely woven palate. Don't look for large powerful body which is not typical of Sassicaia. It is different from all other Bolgheri and stands out as a result. The value of this Tuscan wine is the consistency of its style across decades, proving what seems to be obvious: it is the expression of its terroir. 'Reminds me the 1988 which was chewy and tense like 2018 at the release' says Carlo Paoli, managing director of Tenuta San Guido.
Drinking Window 2021 - 2048

JANCIS ROBINSON 17.5 points
Drink: 2025 - 2040
Mid ruby. Initially quite scented, then strangely closed a little in the glass. Subtle tones of cedar, vanilla and dried tobacco, with precision of fresh blackcurrant and a hint of black cherry. There’s an underlying graphite and stone/mineral complexity too. Juicy palate – certainly good acidity here – and a comparatively moderate tannic load, both of which work in harmony to structure the wine. The tannins are fine grained, without the somewhat pinched texture I saw in the 2017 vintage, though will nevertheless benefit from a little cellaring to resolve to a silky finesse. At about three-quarter distance there’s just a hint of wateriness, but then the delicate flavour does persist to a very good-length finish. This is certainly Sassicaia in the elegant and subtle mould v 2017’s more powerful iteration. It would be interesting to evaluate these two side by side in a few years. (TJ)