Opened too early, in a nutshell that was my impression of this famed Super Tuscan. I purchased this for $80 (list of $95) approximately 2.5 years ago, and it has been sleeping in the cellar quietly ever since. Decanted for two hours before the first taste, no sediment evident, it gave nothing, the nose was muted. The fruit was hidden. We continued drinking our other wine, then poured another glass at 3 hours, still nothing! By that time, only a half glass was left, i let it sit for another hour, and at the fourth hour of decanting, it blossomed. GRRR , i'm way too impatient sometimes! unfortunately only a half glass remained. The fruit emerged and was in great harmony with the tannins. Long silky finish on this last half glass. On the nose of currant berry and a hint of floral. WS had 92 points and a drink now (which is nonsense), WA had a 90 point and best after 2004. this will easily last and i think will still improve in the bottle. wish i had another as i'd give this another 3-5 years then try again. if you have it, wait, be patient, it will reward you!

Most Sassicaias need significant time in the bottle. However, within their first year of life they can be eye poppingly good. Early on the 90 was superb and even relatively weak years like the 94 were well worth drinking early on. The 85 and 90 Sass remain reference point Italian wines. You can't have too many of these in your cellar.

thanks jones. i have one 98, and i'll be cellaring for quite some time before trying this. i also saw your comment on people noting that wines opened up on the last glass are usually due to being drunk. while i did note that this opened up on the last glass, the decanter sat between the third and fourth hour without being touched. during that time i'd switched to water. when no one wanted it i tried it. so i was pretty sure it had opened up, rather than me being wasted. this 95 was eight years old, i'm guessing i'll wait at least 10 years for the 98, then still decant for some time, sipping along the way to check the progress.

I have had the 1999 twice and 'am far from impressed, especially given the price.

Hopefully I will have the benefit of trying an older one sometime as Jones has mentioned that certain older vintages are benchmark wines.

Alohaj, I sure hope we have different tastes. The Sassicaia has always been my favorite wine (It doesn't hurt that we get it for $65US) but I haven't tried the 99 yet. I've tried the 97 and 98 vintages recently and was very impressed. "Eye popping in their youth" is a perfect description.

Plusvini, Probably not too far off. Both bottles(not mine) were opened and poured straight into the glass with no decanting. After a while some fruit began to show, but the tanins were monstrous. It seemed like it had a good future ahead and would balance out way down the line. Also it retails for over $100 out here.