One of the first Italian red wines made in the image of fine red Bordeaux, Sassicaia was founded by Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta in the 1940s. Having just relocated to the Tenuta San Guido estate on the Tuscan coast, he was experimenting with French grape varieties, and eventually found that Cabernet Sauvignon had what he was looking for. From 1948 to 1967, the wines produced were only consumed privately by Mario's guests at Tenuta San Guido. The first commercial release of Sassicaia, as we know it today, was in 1968, and in 1978 the 1972 vintage competed in an international blind tasting Cabernet contest organized by Decanter Magazine, and won miles ahead of the other contestants. By this time Sassicaia was on the shopping list of every serious wine collector globally, and here it has remained to this day, arguably being Italy's most famous export good. In 1994, Sassicaia was granted its own DOC as an official subzone of Bolgheri. This wine is a 75cl bottle, suitable for both men and women.
