As a student in Pisa during the 1920's, the Marquis Mario Incisa della Rocchetta dreamed of creating a "noble" wine. Like most of Italian aristocracy at the time, his taste in wine ran strongly to fine Bordeaux. After settling with his wife, Clarice, into their Tuscan estate at Tenuta San Guido on the Mediterranean coast, he experimented with several French grape varieties and concluded, “the bouquet I was looking for” was found in the Cabernet.

At a 1978 “Decanter Magazine” tasting in London, a panel including Hugh Johnson, Serena Sutcliffe, and Clive Coates declared the 1972 Sassicaia (vino da tavola) the best Cabernet Sauvignon in a field of 33 wines from 11 countries. Sixteen years later in 1994, Sassicaia was granted its own "Sassicaia Bolgheri DOC".

In 2000 Tenuta San Guido introduced Guidalberto IGT and in 2002 Le Difese IGT.

The Marquis Mario Incisa della Rocchetta passed away in 1983. His son, Marquis Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta, now oversees all estate operations with his able stepson Sebastiano Rosa.

The director general, Carlo Paoli, is for us the point of reference to this Bolgheri tenuta. He's been around long enough to fill us up with great snippets of the legendry Sassicaia; starting out with Giacomo Tachis’s “recipe” back in the days to vintage variation and race horse breeding!!