Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 2022

The 2022 Sassicaia is a deeper, youthful magenta/red color with a slightly deeper aromatic profile of rosemary, gravelly earth, sage, mossy earth, and fresh black cherries. The palate has slightly broader shoulders but remains elegant. It has more plushness on the mid-palate, while its acidity shines through with the finish. It will need several years to shed its baby fat and show its full potential. Drink 2028-2058.

The 2022 Sassicaia is a very pretty, expressive wine. There’s a bit more Cabernet Sauvignon (and less Franc) in this year’s blend, and that really comes through in the wine’s flavor profile and slightly bruising tannins. Dark cherry, plum, leather, licorice, graphite and incense give the 2022 striking aromatic presence to match its rather brooding personality. There’s a bit of tension in the tannins that needs time to resolve. Yields were down about 20% because of intensely cold weather in spring, variable conditions during flowering and set, and then searing heat and drought throughout the summer.

Plenty of red currant, cedar, iron and terra cotta aromas follow through to a medium to full body with graphite, sandalwood, red currants and fresh Mediterranean herbs such as thyme and rosemary. The tannins are chewy but polished in texture. This is a Sassicaia that needs three or four years of bottle age to come together and soften. A structured wine for the cellar. Try after 2029.

The Tenuta San Guido 2022 Bolgheri Sassicaia is very much defined by its strong tannic backbone, and tasting it now, a year after release, that impression remains unchanged. A perfumed, almost floral component lifts the bouquet, which stays elegantly vertical and sharp despite the wine’s power. This is a little tank of a wine, moving forward with muscle and intensity, a character memorably described by Tenuta San Guido general manager Carlo Paoli as “a kid with a drum kit,” an image that feels both fitting and true. The vintage saw lower yields, down 18%, due to severe fruit selection in a hot and dry growing season. The finish brings playful notes of mint and sweet grenadine, trailing off with surprising elegance.