2016 Sassicaia: The Icon That Set Tuscany On Fire

It has been almost four years since the 2016 Sassicaia was released, and since then the world has only seen three releases from the coveted Super Tuscan. 2020 Sassicaia will hit the market when the clock strikes late summer 2023, but there is nothing to suggest that it will dethrone the magical 2016 vintage.

Sassicaia's worldwide success really took off with the release of the 2016 vintage accompanied by 100 points - it is one of the two best the house has ever released. Sassicaia has also delivered great historical returns and has almost been awarded permanent residence on the Liv-ex Power 100 list.

We have sourced a small batch of the iconic 2016 Sassicaia which is now available for investment - and if it follows its 1985 equivalent, there is great things in store for this one. Read more below.

Sassicaia: Iconic Super Tuscan Boosted Bolgheri

In 1930, Marquis Mario Incisa della Rochetta married Countess Clarice della Gherardesca. They moved to Bolgheri, where the Marquis had ambitions to bring French wine finesse to Italy. He acquired cuttings of Italian Cabernet clones and planted them at Castiglioncello di Bolgheri - sheltered from the sea. This was the start of Sassicaia, and it was a start that went against Italian traditions of using only the Sangiovese grape.

The Marquis experimented until he was satisfied and debuted the 1968 vintage of Sassicaia, which hit the market in 1972. If only Sassicaia had been marketed locally, victory would have been long in coming. The tradition-bound area was not keen on the extravagant Cabernet wines, but fortunately, the rest of Italy was.

In 1978, Sassicaia won a significant competition in the wine magazine Decanter, after which local wine enthusiasts also had to bow down and acknowledge Sassicaia as something unique.

The real breakthrough came with the 1985 Sassicaia, which received 100 perfect points from Robert Parker himself. The first top points for Sassicaia - The first top points for Italy. Sassicaia has since led the group of several Italian producers who like to make wines from Bordeaux-inspired grapes aged in French barriques. A group known as Super Tuscans.

2016 Sassicaia: Perfection Strikes Again... And More

Only twice has a Sassicaia achieved 100 points - first with their 1985 vintage, and most recently with their 2016 vintage. Both triple-digit perfection marks were awarded by Wine Advocate, which only underlines that we are dealing with a rarity here, albeit Sassicaia is a guarantor of great points.

2016 received 97 points from both Vinous and James Suckling, giving it an average score of 98 points across scores from all three critics, seeing it only surpassed by the 1985 Sassicaia with an average score of 99 points, albeit it only received points from Vinous (98P) and Wine Advocate (100P).

Add to that, the fact that over the past ten vintages, across scores from the above three critics, Sassicaia has averaged 95.5 points. 2016 Sassicaia is the best in a very, very long time. And with 100 points comes demand.

2016 was indeed the vintage that fuelled the international Sassicaia hype. It was a release that came in the wake of the 2015 Sassicaia vintage being named Wine of The Year by Wine Spectator in 2018. 2015 was the launchpad, and 2016 was a sustained celebration. Sassicaia thus moved up in the club of acclaimed and sought-after wines in earnest, stealing attention from the world's most sought-after wines while becoming a superbrand for the masses.

Sassicaia And Liv-Ex Power 100: A Frequent Acquaintance

Every year, the British wine exchange Liv-ex publishes its famous Power 100 list, presenting the past year's 100 most powerful brands on the wine market - in numbered order. Rankings are awarded according to the most traded wines measured by both volume and value.

For the past ten years, Sassicaia has been on the Power 100 lists, even with an average ranking of 22.7. It is an outstanding achievement to be continuously represented on the list for so many years - especially considering that wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy are the dominant players when we talk about volume and value.

Moreover, it is worth pointing out that Sassicaia found itself in the top ten three years in a row after the release of the 2016 Sassicaia. The world always demands 100-point wines.

RareWine Invests Opinion

With the 2015 vintage, the world caught sight of Sassicaia, and with the 2016 vintage, the now iconic golden star wrapped in blue took hold. The Super Tuscan Sassicaia has become a super brand. While this 2016 has had some good and fruitful years to run, there is still excellent investment potential in it - according to Italy expert Vinous, 2016 has not even entered its drinking window yet. Once it does, a lifespan of 20, 30, and 40 years can quickly be expected, depending on which critic is consulted.

100 Parker points never go out of fashion, and if the aforementioned price of a 1985 vintage is consulted, one must in the future shake one's head at today's price of € 380.

Even when a Sassicaia release does not get 100 points (or 99 or 98 etc.), you will meet it here on the channel as an investment case. Simply because it is some of Italy's best and most sought-after. And simply because historical returns and places on the power-100 list cement that Sassicaia is the darling of consumers - and so, by default, it is the darling of investors.

Although Sassicaia produces in the region of 180,000 bottles per vintage, volumes are continually reduced, and larger batches have become a rare sight on the world market. The last time we had this for investment, quantities were in short supply. We expect the same this time, so it is always first come, first served.