Wine: 2008 Sassicaia
Region: Tuscany
Sokolin Price: $169/btl
Rating: 97 JS
Ever since James Suckling released his score on the 2008 Sassicaia in June, we have been waiting to try this wine! This Sassicaia scored big - 97 points from Suckling with a rave review matching its score.
James Suckling said, "this is the best young Sassicaia in years. It's the new 1988, which was great, and sometimes better than the legendary 1985." While Burgundy wines always seem to be great in years ending in nine, all forces of nature come together to create magic for Sassicaia in years ending in eight. James Suckling pointed out that the owner of Sassicaia said that his wine is always great in years ending in eight...1958, 1968, 1978, 1988, 1998 & now, 2008. That's incredible when you think about it.
We were so excited to try the 2008 Sassicaia with two of our very good wine loving friends last evening. The Sassicaia was paired next to braised short ribs, stuffed baked potatoes and a new asparagus recipe wrapped with pancetta slices and drizzled with a very light, wine friendly citrus/mustard sauce (a Mario Batali recipe). The Sassicaia is drinking so fantastic right now! It was packed full of dark fruit including plums, blackberries, blueberries and currants with subtle notes of spices. It had power and finesse at the same time, which makes this wine so incredible. Known and labeled as a "Super Tuscan," this wine is made of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc, which are two of Bordeaux's five main grape varietals for red wine. It is also aged in French oak.
Sassicaia is one of the greatest Italian wines made. It has the longevity and the ability to last like great Bordeaux. In our opinion, Sassicaia is made in the style of the Bordelais, but still retains the sense of terroir from the soil of Tuscany.
The 2008 Sassicaia is the first vintage to ever be widely demanded by Asia, and when the Asian market started demanding Lafite Rothschild, we all saw what happened to the prices of Lafite - they increased over 125% in just a short two year time span. The 2008 Sassicaia is currently priced at $169/bottle, but with worldwide demand for this wine, it will soon be priced at over $200/bottle. We saw this happen with 1988 Sassicaia, which is now priced close to $700/bottle, and 1985 Sassicaia, which goes for almost $2,000/bottle now!
Recommendation: We have this wine in stock and ready to ship. This is a legend that you MUST try! Get it while we have it, and before the prices go up! Pop one of the bottles and lay the rest down in your cellar. It's only going to get better with time.
Our Score - 98+ points
Drinkability - Solid A