($220; a blend of 85% cabernet sauvignon and 15% cabernet franc) Bright red with a pale rim. Subdued, youthfully reticent nose hints at pomegranate, currant, cedar and minerals. Soft and approachable already but a bit monolithic, with lush, easygoing flavors of redcurrant, cassis, smoke and vanilla. A seamlessly ripe and broad wine, finishing with smooth peppery tannins and good length. I suspect this needs time to sort itself out in bottle but I wouldn't be surprised if this will always be remembered as a Sassicaia offering early accessibility and a little less concentration and depth than usual. Presently, it's not much better than the Guidalberto, though my experience with Sassicaia over the last 30 vintages has taught me that this wine is often disappointing when young, only to blossom about ten years after the vintage. I should also point out that I encountered quite a bit of bottle variation: one of my four samples rated 94 points, another two were 90 or 91 at best, and the fourth did not merit anything like an outstanding rating.

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Mid crimson. Very lifted and complex. Ripe but not flashy nose. Very terroir driven rather than strongly Cabernet. Released May/Jun 2010. Very lively and Lafite-like. Racy. Aristocratic. Very rewarding. Not especially hot. Sinewy. Even very slightly salty. So much more refined than Ornellaia 2007! Wonderfully subtle.

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The 2007 Sassicaia (Cabernet Sauvignon) explodes onto the palate with masses of rich, opulent fruit that caress the palate with gorgeous length and a seamless beauty that is hard to fully capture. Dark wild cherries, plums, spices, minerals and herbs develop in the glass. This is an especially bold, perhaps slightly uncharacteristic Sassicaia in its extroverted personality, but it is beautiful all the same. The inner perfume and sweetness carries through the long finish, where the sheer weight and glycerol of the fruit leaves a lasting impression. The 2007 is more than a worthy follow-up to the profound 2006. While it may lack that wine's freshness, structure and potential longevity, the 2007 is immensely appealing today, and should drink beautifully pretty much out of the gate. That said, Sassicaia is always the most restrained of Bolgheri's heavy hitters. This is a superb effort from Tenuta San Guido.

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Very enticing aromas of spices, meat and berries. Full-bodied and juicy, soft and velvety, with a long, succulent finish.

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