Sassicaia, Tenuta San Guido 2022 75cl

The 2022 Sassicaia comes from a warm, drought-marked growing season on the Tuscan coast, and Tenuta San Guido has answered it with a ripe yet composed wine. This is the estate that created the Super Tuscan, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc from Bolgheri, still the only single vineyard in Italy with its own DOC.

Planted in the 1940s by the Incisa della Rocchetta family in homage to the great wines of the Medoc, Sassicaia turned a stretch of coastal Tuscany into one of the wine world's most revered addresses. The maritime breezes and gravelly soils give Cabernet a distinctive freshness even in hotter years, and the wine matures in French oak.

The 2022 leans into generous fruit: blackcurrant, ripe plum, warm cedar and sweet spice, with the estate's signature notes of Mediterranean scrub and graphite underneath. The palate is full and rounded, the tannins ripe and velvety, the finish long and savoury. It is a touch more open and fleshy than cooler vintages, without losing its structure.

At around £240 it is a benchmark collector's wine. Decant if drinking now, or cellar for a decade to let it settle.

How to Serve

Serve at 16-18C in a large Bordeaux bowl. Decant one to two hours ahead.

Where to Drink It

Harry's Bar in Mayfair for grand Italian. Locanda Locatelli in Marylebone for elegance. Bocca di Lupo in Soho for regional cooking.

Food Pairings

Grilled Chianina steak, or venison with juniper.