They call them the “Super Tuscans” and there are those who have gone to great lengths in order to win one of their prestigious vintages. Bolgheri wines are now famous all over the world: rich reds, sumptuous and very structured, they have a history that is both recent and romantic. The story begins in 1930, when the Marquis Incisa della Rocchetta, after marrying Clarice della Gherardesca, moves into the poetic estate of San Guido a Bolgheri, that has belonged to his bride’s family for many centuries. The Marquis has a dream: to produce an exceptional Tuscan wine, one having the same thickness as a Bordeaux. And it is precisely in the land of this estate – which they call “Sassicaia” as tribute to all the stones that had been removed to make it arable – that, around the year 1942, begins his challenge. Here he notices a striking resemblance of soils and microclimate on the coastal strip between Bolgheri and Castagneto Carducci and Graves, so he imports some Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc vine cuttings. These he plants following the French methodology in the vineyard that – without him knowing – will become a cru famous all over the world. But magic doesn’t happen overnight. The Sassicaia remains for ten years in complete anonymity, the bottles that the Marquis produces are destined for use and consumption by his family and friends who visit the estate, he dedicates himself to horses and becomes owner of the famous Ribot, the most successful thoroughbred in history: sixteen wins out of sixteen races, an equestrian record still standing today. The first real commercial vintage was that of 1968, made available for purchase in 1972 with an iconic label: the golden wind rose on a blue background. A symbol that from that moment will become the ambassador of Italian value of a totally new wine, born of a challenge or perhaps simply from a brilliant intuition.
The Sassicaia was a full-blown revolution in the wine world. It pushed other winemakers to invest in the peculiarities of the territory of Bolgheri which today is a DOC. It also paved the way for the fine Tuscan wines of the a Bordeaux-cut wine that possess the character of the French nobility combined with the unique balsamic trace given to it by the Mediterranean area, its scents and the gentle breeze that comes from the sea.
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