2017 Sassicaia, Tenuta San Guido, Bolgheri Sassicaia, Tuscany, Italy

This 2017 Sassicaia is wonderfully fragrant on the nose, but it needs an hour or more to really open up. 2017 was a very difficult vintage mainly because it was so dry it didn't rain for most of the summer and for much of the spring. The vines were stressed, and a lot of fine tuning and management was needed in the vineyards and in the winery to get the best results. But what I love so much about this 2017 is that Carlo Paoli and the Tenuta San Guido team have done a brilliant job. There is a lovely harmony on the palate and a lovely mouth-watering freshness and acidity which is a signature of Sassicaia but more of a challenge in this vintage. There is a little dry twist to the tannins on the finish, but they are beautifully integrated into the rest of the wine and this after all is a signature of the 2017. - Decanter