Wine Tasting: Sassicaia

Dr Sebastiano Rosa is one of the most respected oenologists working in Italy today. A graduate of UC-Davis, he spent his early years at such illustrious wine estates as Lafite Rothschild in Bordeaux and Argiano in Tuscany, before joining his family’s Bolgheri estate (Tenuta San Guido) as Winemaker and Technical Director.

Join us at Sigel’s-Addison on Wednesday, July 22 from 6-8 p.m. as Dr Sebastiano Rosa leads us through a tasting of the current releases from his 3 estates, Tenuta San Guido (Bolgheri), Tenuta di Salviano (Umbria) and Argicola Punica (Sardinia). To RSVP for this free tasting please contact David Waddington or Ben Coyle at store01wine@sigels.com or 214/739-4012.

Wines to be tasted:

Tenuta di Salviano: Nestled among Umbria’s rolling hills between Todi and Orvieto, the Salviano estate occupies 4,940 acres surrounding Lake Corbara and the banks of the Tiber River. Owned by the Marchesa Nerina Corsini Incisa della Rocchetta the Salviano vineyards are planted to Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Procanico and Grechetto, rising from 150m to 500m above sea level. These newly planted vineyards of indigenous and international varieties produce excellent quality red and white wines from the classic Orvieto Classico Superiore to progressive luxury red blends.

Orvieto Classico Superiore 07, Salviano di Salviano 06, Solideo di Salviano 03, Turlo’ 04

Agricola Punica: Agricola Punica is a ground-breaking endeavor in Sardinia from Super-Stars of Italian winemaking - Dr. Sebastiano Rosa, architect of Sassicaia at Tenuta San Guido and Giacomo Tachis – who helped create the original Super Tuscan, Sassicaia, as well as Tignanello and Solaia, is the technical director. Dr. Rosa recounts: ‘It was Giacomo Tachis who turned us on to Sardinia and the sweet, soft tannins of Carignano. He convinced us that we could make a great Carignano-based wine… There are few people making wine here, and the potential is tremendous, a similar situation to Bolgheri. We are at the beginning of something great.’ Barrua 05

Tenuta San Guido: The legend that became Sassicaia began in 1944, when Mario Incisa della Rocchetta planted a few Cabernet vine cuttings in a tiny vineyard called Castiglioncello. It was not until over a quarter century later that he first released the wine to the market, in the 1968 vintage. Within a matter of a few vintages, Sassicaia became a legend, not only as a benchmark for quality but as the progenitor of a new breed of Italian wine, and has remained so since. With the 1994 vintage, this unique legacy was acknowledged when Sassicaia became the first wine to be given its own appellation in the D.O.C. system.

Guidalberto 06, Sassicaia 06