90(+?) Points | International Wine Cellar , January 2009

(80% cabernet sauvignon and 20% cabernet franc):  Medium saturated ruby-red.  Fresh aromas of blackcurrant, graphite, herbs and mocha.  Intense flavors of minty blackberry and cedar, complicated by leather and minerals and a hint of tomato paste.  This has filled out considerably with time in bottle and now shows less of the green edges that were apparent a few years ago.  Another very good example of how lesser vintages of Sassicaia improve markedly with time; I probably underrated this wine in my initial evaluation.  Though 2002 was a horrific, rain-plagued vintage, insiders know that it rained less in Bolgheri than in other parts of Tuscany, and to Incisa della Rocchetta’s credit, a whopping 40% of the final wine was declassified, so there’s less Sassicaia to go around from this vintage.