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Sassicaia, Tenuta San Guido 2004

Tasting Notes

The 2004 Sassicaia is a lovely, understated effort. Medium in body, it presents nuanced layers of sweet dark fruit, licorice, menthol and toasted oak that gradually open onto a finely-knit frame of notable length. Today it appears to be quite reticent and still holding back much of its potential. Both bottles I sampled showed less vibrancy and freshness in both color and flavors than the other top 2004s I tasted alongside it, suggesting that the wine is still suffering from bottle shock. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2022.

93
Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate (171), June 2007

A wine with beautiful aromas of currants and light chocolate with hints of sweet tobacco. It's full-bodied and very refined with integrated tannins. It still needs time to give its full potential, but it's a beautiful wine with excellent length and class. Drink or hold.

94
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, June 2013

The 2004 has a ripe, quite rich and rounded, plum, blackberry, liquorices tinged bouquet, a little dark chocolate and espresso with superb precision. The palate is full-bodied, rounded and supple on then entry with notes of blackberry, dark chocolate, a touch of spice and leather. Very smooth and lithe towards the sensuous, harmonious finish. The '04 is elegant and suave, but deserves another 5-8 years in the cellar. Tasted February 2010.

93
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, July 2011

(85% cabernet sauvignon and 15% cabernet franc): Deep ruby-red. Captivatingly intense yet refined aromas of ripe red cherry, mint, smoke and black truffle, complicated by lovely mineral and floral elements. Ripe, rich and velvety on entry, then concentrated in the middle, with flavors of red cherry, cassis, spices, bay leaf, dark chocolate and espresso. Amazingly well balanced and fresh wine, with sound, bright acids supplying wonderful lift and precision and smooth, noble tannins adding considerable power and grace. The finish goes on for minutes, highlighted by an enchanting floral-mineral quality; in my experience, the appearance of this strong floral component (in the absence of herbal or peppery aromas and flavors more typical of lesser vintages) at this early stage of development is typical of the greatest versions of Sassicaia. One of the top dozen Sassicaia bottlings ever. Interestingly, over the years owner Incisa della Rocchetta has been accused by some wine writers of harvesting much too early. In 2004 all the cabernet at Sassicaia was picked within the month of September, whereas some neighboring estates harvested well into October. Given the differences in quality achieved, some of the latter might do well to take a page out of Sassicaia's play book.

97
Ian d'Agata, International Wine Cellar, January 2011

Magnum. Dark ruby with some evolution. Liquorice and cool. Dense and youthful. Quite dramatic for a Sassicaia. A bit jagged at the moment. Solid and dry on the end. Powerful for a Sassicaia! Very dry for the moment

17.5+
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, July 2013
Read more tasting notes...

Shows aromas of chocolate, currant and blackberry, with a hint of Spanish cedar. Full-bodied, with firm, velvety tannins and a long finish. Racy and very well-structured. Builds on the palate. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best after 2012. 15,000 cases made.

94
James Suckling, Wine Spectator, October 2007
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.