Sassicaia 2016

When Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta planted Cabernet Sauvignon on the Castiglioncello hill in 1944 — decades before French varieties were accepted in Tuscany — he was producing wine solely for family consumption, a private experiment that would not reach commercial release until the 1968 vintage. That founding conviction, to harvest just before full phenolic ripeness and preserve fragrance over power, remains the technical spine of every bottle released today.

The Sassicaia plots span 100–300 m a.s.l. across five estate parcels — Castiglioncello reaching 400 m — on soils of calcareous marl, gabbro, alberese, and rounded pebbles (the sassi that name the wine). West/south-west exposure draws cooling Tyrrhenian sea breezes through a natural amphitheatre of hills, moderating summer heat and extending hang time without sacrificing acidity.

The 2016 blend is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc, fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel at ≤28–29°C with estate-selected indigenous yeasts; malolactic fermentation completes spontaneously in steel. Aging runs 24 months in French oak barriques (Tronçais, Allier, Jupilles; extra-fine grain, light toast, long seasoning) at approximately 40% new, 40% first-fill, 20% second-fill.

Sassicaia holds the only single-estate DOC in Italy — a classification with no domestic parallel — making this the sole wine in the country whose appellation belongs exclusively to one producer.

The 2016 growing season delivered higher natural acidity than 2015, producing a chiselled, structurally precise wine considered among the greatest modern vintages; drinking window extends well into the late 2030s and beyond.