On Saturday the 2017 vintage of Sassicaia will be released. Given the year that we’ve had so far, I have a feeling that it won’t sit on the shelf for very long. I had the opportunity to be sent a bottle for review – because let’s face it – buying a wine clearly meant to be sat on for a while and opening it immediately is not something I do very often. What I love about getting an opportunity to taste a wine like this is that there is a tiny chance that wine isn’t going to be good. The questions that need to be answered here are – how good is it? Is it worth the price? – Frankly, when it comes to the latter that is the number questions that I always ask when getting to taste these great iconic wines of the world. So how does this wine stack up?
2017 Sassicaia – Vintages 480533 – ***** – $249.95 – Where do you begin to taste this wine? I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt knowing that this isn’t something you’re planning to buy and immediately consume. I opened my bottle at 6:30am and made sure to taste it – the tannin was an assault on the palate – but that was to be expected. I revisited the wine at 6:30pm and even after 12 hours in a carafe the tannin wasn’t going down without a fight. But around 7:30 – after some agitation in a glass things started to play in harmony. The fruit oozes out of the glass with nice intensity – but also elegance – cassis, cherry, strawberry balance perfectly with cedar and smoke. On the palate the fruit matches the nose with perfect ripeness, concentration, and grace. This is one of those wines that lives up to the hype, and is well worth the price of admission. If you get one – don’t do what I did – wait 7-10 years for the tannin to relax or you could hold this for 30 years in a proper cellar.
