For years, all but the wealthiest wine lovers could only look upon Sassicaia, one of the world’s greatest Cabernet Sauvignons, with envy, due to its price. Le Difese was introduced in 2003 to meet the demand for wines from this highly acclaimed estate and to do so at a more accessible price level. The wine is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Sangiovese and aged for 12 months in French and American oak barrels, previously used for Sassicaia and the second wine, Guidalberto. The 2019 is an excellent vintage with dried cherry, blackberry, tobacco complexity and spice. A lovely partner to game dishes such as fettuccine with ragú or wild boar sausage. It also has the freshness to cut through the fattiness of lamb. Open early and decant.