best-kept secret. In 1978, the 1972 Sassicaia was entered into a
Decanter blind tasting of Bordeaux-style wines. Sassicaia, unlike the
unbeaten Ribot, was a surprise longshot winner, besting 33 wines
from 11 countries.
The result for the Incisa della Rocchetta family was a demand that
far exceeded their output capabilities. For the wine community glob-
ally, it meant a complete revolution in the way Italian wines were
perceived. The Bolgheri region of Tuscany, once the castoff of the
already lowly regarded Italian wine industry, is now considered the
best in the country.
It took some time for the region to be officially recognized un-
der Italy's quality and taste assurance standards (Denominazione
di Origine Controllata, or DOC), but Bolgheri was at last recognized
as DOC in 1994. In 2013, Sassicaia–which is today comprised of 85%
Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc grapes–was awarded
its own DOC. It is the only individual wine in the country to have re-
ceived this distinction.
The Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta died in 1983, and the
vineyard and racehorse training operations are today still run by his
son the Marchese Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta, who has in fact been
