Tenuta San Guido

Tenuta San Guido is located in the Maremma in Bolgheri. The winery is world famous for their flagship wine "Sassicaia". Sassicaia means "stony ground" in the Tuscan dialect. Production of Sassicaia began as early as 1948 and was only consumed on the estate until the mid-1960s. All the grapes used for this wine came from a vineyard near Castiglioncello.

In 1965, the late Marchèse Mario Incisa della Rochetta planted two new vineyards with Cabernet Sauvigon and Cabernet Franc near the original vineyard. This was the beginning of the "new" Sassicaia and the first release in 1968 was already well received. However, the wine became world famous in 1978 when a blind tasting contest by Decanter magazine was organized and a bottle of Sassicaia won many famous cabernet sauvignon producers from around the world.

Since Sassicaia was the first Italian to experiment with Bordeaux style winemaking, it can be considered the first 'Super Tuscan'. Therefore, the wine was only classified as a Vino da Tavola, but since 2013 it became the only wine from a single estate in Italy to receive its own DOC (Bolgheri Sassicaia).

The wine matures for 24 months in 25% new oak barrels from France. The production of Sassicaia is about 180,000 bottles per year. A second wine is also produced "Guidalberto" (cabernet sauvignon & merlot), which was launched in 2000 and recently introduced "La Diffese". “La Diffese” has some Sangiovese in the blend and is partly aged in American oak. Furthermore, the estate, in collaboration with Jacopo Poli, also produces a Grappa “Da Vinacce Di Sassicaia.

The winery has many famous fans. For example, Jay-Z and Beyonce visited the winery and always want to have two bottles in their dressing room. David and Victoria Beckham also celebrated their wedding anniversary with a box of Sassicaia and Mark Wahlberg is a well-known fan of the Sassicaia.

The major vintages for Sassicaia are: 1985 (considered a legend!), 1988, 1990, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2019.


FACTS

Year Founded: 1940
Owner: Nicoló Incisa della Rocchetta
Annual production: approx. 790,000 bottles
Vineyard: approx. 90 hectares
Natural Viticulture