Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 1985

Robert Parker: Oddly enough, the 1985 Sassicaia was the wine least commented during the conversations that followed this retrospective. Our panel consisted of some two dozen professional wine tasters from around the world, and virtually not a word was uttered with regards to this wine. That's how truly outstanding it is. The soaring beauty of this landmark Sassicaia literally transcends the rather mundane realm of wine critique with its string of adjectives and wearisome descriptors. It hardly deserves to be treated like any of the other gorgeous wines we tasted on this glorious day. In truth, the 1985 Sassicaia does reveal a new perspective onto its perfection each time you have the fortune to taste it. I noticed a layer of bright almond-like sweetness that I don't recall tasting before. The wine seems to be getting younger, not older. Even its appearance is remarkable. Of the various samples presented from the 1980s, this wine exhibited the brightest garnet color and the most youthful personality. It shows stunning volume. The integration is seamless and the wine's many complicated pieces fit together with utmost precision like a jigsaw puzzle that renders a most beautiful Italian masterpiece when admired at completion. 100/100

Jeff Leve: Full-bodied, concentrated, rich and with incredible intensity, the fruit offered a beautiful purity, vibrancy, elegance and supple character that was equally youthful and luscious. The intensity was in the nose and palate. Just an incredible tasting experience. 100/100

Falstaff: Auch nach über 30 Jahren noch immer ein beeindruckender Wein: Kraftvolles Rubingranat. Erstaunlich frische, präsente Cassis-Frucht und würzige Minzenote. Am Gaumen kraftvoll und präsent, tiefgründig, viel feinmaschiges Tannin, sehr langer Nachhall. 100/100

Jane Anson: So finely spun, with pillowed tannins, perfect weighting and freshness through the palate, fires up your senses with rosemary, white truffle, mocha, underbrush, olive tapenade, redcurrant and crushed raspberry fruits, utterly moreish. No hint of it going anywhere after an hour open in the glass, even at almost 40 years old. This was a low-yield vintage after a very cold winter, where 80% of the olive trees in Tuscany were destroyed, which no doubt contributes to this concentration and persistence. And if you want to know if setting makes a difference to the enjoyment of a wine, I first tasted this almost ten years ago during an estate vertical in a fresco-ceilinged Roman palace while overlooking the fountains of Piazza Navona. This time I was at home with a bowl of (excellent) pasta. Both times a stone cold 100 points. 100/100

Jancis Robinson: Magnum. Amazing depth of colour and luminosity. So sweet and robust. Rather out of the mainstream line of finesse, but so delicious – and apparently indestructible. So wonderful I just lost myself in it rather than writing a tasting note. 20/20

Vinum Wine Magazine: Kurz und prägnant waren die Degustationsnotizen damals und notierten nur die Kernausagen einiger Mitglieder des Verkosterteams. So hiess es zum Sassicaia 1985: «Dipoli: feines Tannin. Tristano: grosses Potenzial.» Die einzelnen Noten variierten zwischen 15 und 18.5. Insgesamt ergab das 16.5 Punkte – rückblickend viel zu wenig. Der Sassicaia-Jahrgang 1985 ist neben dem Premierenjahrgang 1968 legendär: Bei Auktionen werden nicht umsonst Höchstpreise bezahlt. Mit diesem Kult-Cabernet aus der toskanischen Maremma begann schliesslich auch der Boom der Supertoskaner und der Bolgheri-Weine. Damals reifte der Sassicaia zwei Jahre im kleinen Eichenfass (65 Prozent davon neu) und kam in einer Auflage von 62 500 Flaschen auf den Markt. Heutzutage werden mehr als dreimal so viele Flaschen produziert. Und so sich präsentiert der Mythos heute: Im Glas überraschend frisch mit brillantem Rubinrot und Granattönen; in der Nase Noten von Kräutern, Lakritz und Waldbeerconfit, schöne Gewürznoten; aber seine wahre Grösse zeigt der Wein am Gaumen, mit – auch nach 25 Jahren – exorbitanter Fülle, viel Festigkeit und Rasse, die Gerbstoffe hervorragend und perfekt in das Gesamtbild integriert. Überzeugend auch seine Jugendlichkeit: Zu Recht gilt 1985 als einer der langlebigsten Sassicaia-Jahrgänge der Geschichte. 20/20