The nose is definitely influenced by Cabernet Franc here, with raspberry, cherry, wildflowers, sweet lavender, rosemary, plum, and a bit of phenolic character from the stems. This is followed by black and green olive, the perfect touch of fresh unripeness and stemmy character that maintains balance (is part of it perhaps uncrushed?), a hint of tar, black cherry, blackberry, cassis. Here it is, the Cabernet Sauvignon from Chateau Latour. On the palate, an incredibly silky mouthfeel follows, with some red bell pepper, again ripe plum, cedarwood, a trace of tobacco, allspice pepper, caramel, a tiny hint of tar and pitch, but dominated by concentrated, sweet red currant. Incredibly dense and vibrant with spicy fullness and at the same time playful silkiness. All of this in a sexy corset, the Sassicaia remains enormously focused and concentrated on the palate. Very long finish, solid pressure on the palate. Brilliant freshness, high acidity. Not Chateau Latour, from whose clones it originated, nor overripe California or even lush Saint Emilion, but certainly among the best spicy cool-climate Cabernets. More wiry and dynamic in refined tension than powerful and lush.
