Solaia is a renowned Italian wine producer located in the heart of Tuscany. The winery was founded in 1978 by Marchese Piero Antinori, a member of one of the oldest and most respected wine-making families in Italy. Solaia is known for producing some of the finest Super Tuscan wines in the world.
The vineyards of Solaia are located in the Chianti Classico region, which is known for its ideal climate and soil conditions for growing grapes. The winery produces a range of wines, including the flagship Solaia, which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, and Cabernet Franc. This wine is aged in French oak barrels for 18 months and then in the bottle for another 12 months before release. The result is a complex and elegant wine with notes of blackcurrant, blackberry, and vanilla.
Another notable wine produced by Solaia is the Tignanello, which is a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc. This wine is aged in French oak barrels for 12 months and then in the bottle for another 12 months before release. The Tignanello is a full-bodied wine with notes of black cherry, plum, and tobacco.
Solaia also produces a range of other wines, including the Guado al Tasso, which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. This wine is aged in French oak barrels for 14 months and then in the bottle for another 10 months before release. The Guado al Tasso is a rich and complex wine with notes of blackberry, black cherry, and spice.
Overall, Solaia is a producer of some of the finest Super Tuscan wines in the world. The winery's commitment to quality and tradition has earned it a reputation as one of the top wine producers in Italy.
The 2003 Solaia (75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Sangiovese and 5% Cabernet Franc) reveals the essence of blackberry jam, liquorice, cassis, tar and minerals in a super-ripe, heady expression of the vintage. Richly sumptuous on the palate, this beautiful, expansive Solaia offers terrific length as well as stunning balance with plenty of style. It is sure to deliver much gratification over the next decade or so.
This elegant vintage prizes on fruit purity and focus with black plum, cassis, blue flower, pencil shaving and lots of sweet spice from the oak that recalls clove and toasted almond. The blend is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with smaller parts Cabernet Franc and Sangiovese. The fruit is harvested at the Antinori family's Tenuta Tignanello at the heart of the Chianti Classico appellation.
The percentage of Cabernet Franc used in the blend is the ultimate Solaia wild card. In this vintage, the Franc has been increased to 7%, and that number is expected to be even higher in 2019 as the vines get older and the fruit more complex. This is a beautiful wine, the 2018 Solaia is delicious on all fronts as expected.
The Marchesi Antinori 2018 Solaia reveals a silky and elegant personality, and the wine steps away from some of the more robust fruit weight and dark concentration that we've seen in the past.
This elegant vintage prizes on fruit purity and focus with black plum, cassis, blue flower, pencil shaving and lots of sweet spice from the oak that recalls clove and toasted almond. The blend is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with smaller parts Cabernet Franc and Sangiovese. The fruit is harvested at the Antinori family's Tenuta Tignanello at the heart of the Chianti Classico appellation.
The percentage of Cabernet Franc used in the blend is the ultimate Solaia wild card. In this vintage, the Franc has been increased to 7%, and that number is expected to be even higher in 2019 as the vines get older and the fruit more complex. This is a beautiful wine, the 2018 Solaia is delicious on all fronts as expected.
The Marchesi Antinori 2017 Solaia offers a uniquely floral personality with wild rose and lilac that comes as a surprise, especially if you are expecting the more robust and opulent dark fruit associated with this vintage.
To use a word that is popular now, the aromas are absolutely lifted. This is a bouquet-driven wine, showing great oak choices that are synergistic with the light and considerably thinner palate. Dried or pressed flowers cede to cherry, blueberry, some red meat char, and a light touch of cinnamon. My impression is that the dry extract from the oak ultimately plays a bigger role in the overall flavour profile, preserving its red fruit core, nevertheless.
The wine is very accessible in terms of mouthfeel, showing a comparatively thinner and shorter approach. With more time in the glass, it offers some of the white soil dust that is a standard Solaia signature.
The Marchesi Antinori 2017 Solaia offers a uniquely floral personality with wild rose and lilac that comes as a surprise, especially if you are expecting the more robust and opulent dark fruit associated with this vintage.
To use a word that is popular now, the aromas are absolutely lifted. This is a bouquet-driven wine, showing great oak choices that are synergistic with the light and considerably thinner palate. Dried or pressed flowers cede to cherry, blueberry, some red meat char, and a light touch of cinnamon. My impression is that the dry extract from the oak ultimately plays a bigger role in the overall flavour profile, preserving its red fruit core, nevertheless.
The wine is very accessible in terms of mouthfeel, showing a comparatively thinner and shorter approach. With more time in the glass, it offers some of the white soil dust that is a standard Solaia signature. It will be released the first week of September.
I fussed over scoring this wine more than I'd like to admit—tasting through three samples under different conditions at various intervals and testing my impressions blind against wines in its peer group. Most importantly, I tasted this 2016 vintage against the 2015 vintage repeatedly. I confess to a few nights of restless sleep as a result. Ultimately, my decision to award 100 points to the 2016 Solaia came on impulse and with the most natural sense of purpose.
I had also given the 2015 vintage a perfect score, and intellectually, it seemed impossible not to pick a favourite among these two stunning expressions. I will also state, outright, that the wines are very different, principally because the 2015 vintage shows more overall opulence and sweetness that extends to the pronounced textural richness of the mouthfeel.
The 2016 vintage, on the other hand, is more chiselled and sharper with mineral shadings of campfire ash and graphite at the rim of its dark fruit. The mouthfeel is more streamlined and tighter at its core, suggesting that the wine will unfold and soften beautifully with time. I feel like 2015 is the Dolce & Gabbana of the situation and the 2016 is the Armani Privé. The personalities of the two wines are distinct, yet my admiration for each is identical.
There is a magical infinity, a continuous loop of compatibilities, between the icon wines of Tuscany and the 2015 vintage. The stunning 2015 Solaia is solid evidence of this perfect alignment. This was a warm vintage that shows less favourably in my opinion in different parts of Italy and with other grapes that render their most elegant performances in the cooler vintages. I would put pure expressions of Nebbiolo and Sangiovese in this category.
However, Tuscany and many of her great blended reds (made partially or fully with international grapes) operate according to a different logic. To me, their maximum expression comes when you can taste that Tuscan sunshine beaming from within. Its rays are brilliant and warm. They shine across the senses with opulence and intensity.
The very name Solaia evokes the concept of sunshine and this unique Tuscan wine archetype I am referring to. With the 2015 vintage, Solaia is liquid sunshine not just in name but also in fact. The bouquet is immediately soft and sensual with dark fruit, spice, and sweet tobacco. The mouthfeel shows intensity and power, but you don't get any heavy residue from the dry extract. Indeed, the wine feels glossy, tonic, and fresh.
It is composed of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with Sangiovese and a tiny part Cabernet Franc. There is a bit of crunch or snap that comes thanks to the more acidity-prone Sangiovese grape. Finally, the tannins are beautifully sweet and ripe. This wine is meticulously executed, and the 2015 vintage lives up to an ideal of what we imagine Solaia to be.
The 2014 Solaia will be released during the second half of 2017. This is a fine-tuned expression that shows a focused sense of detail and careful attention. The quota of Cabernet Franc has been upped by a hair and this makes a big difference, especially in terms of the wine's bouquet.
Otherwise, this celebrated Tuscan blend is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with Sangiovese. It opens to dark fruit aromas with crushed mineral, pipe tobacco, pressed flower, and toasted spice. Its appearance is midnight black and profound. The wine delivers a sense of sheer excitement and nervousness that will subside with another few years of bottle age.
Nonetheless, I think a certain amount of that bright edginess or rigidness will always be part of this cool vintage Solaia. In the mouth, the wine is firm, compact, and dense. The tannins are chiseled to the point of sublime integration. Marchesi Antinori made 40% less Solaia in this vintage to maintain the quality you taste here.
Marchesi Antinori's 2013 Solaia is a profound and meaningful wine that is based mostly on Cabernet Sauvignon with Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc in supporting roles. It sports a dark and thick texture with plump fruit and spice, grilled herb, and black pepper.
The bouquet is intense and layered with the kind of complexity that is best admired as the wine shifts and evolves in the glass. The textual impact is also impressive—you feel the inherent power and the structure, but these elements are never overdone. The best is yet to come; this Solaia is built for long cellar aging.
Marchesi Antinori's 2013 Solaia is a profound and meaningful wine that is based mostly on Cabernet Sauvignon with Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc in supporting roles. It sports a dark and thick texture with plump fruit and spice, grilled herb, and black pepper.
The bouquet is intense and layered with the kind of complexity that is best admired as the wine shifts and evolves in the glass. The textual impact is also impressive—you feel the inherent power and the structure, but these elements are never overdone. The best is yet to come; this Solaia is built for long cellar aging.
The 2012 Solaia is the ultimate comfort wine: It serves as a beautiful monument to the potential of Italian wine. Let me give you some context. My lukewarm review of the 2011 vintage caused some heads to turn. Happily, the previous vintage has served as a springboard for this current release. Both 2011 and 2012 come from hot climatic conditions, but these wines are very different in style and content.
The 2011 heat softened the lines that make up the varietal identity of this celebrated Tuscan blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Sangiovese. Those lines are presented in sharp focus with the 2012 edition. The nose is redolent of dark berry, crushed mineral, plum, spice and touch of white pepper. The wine is integrated and seamless, but it speaks with a strong and articulate voice.
It is a hedonistic and heady expression for sure, in fact, the bouquet here is very ripe with thick tones of strawberry and blackberry folded within tobacco, leather and sweet spice. Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc offer flavours of rum cake and candied fruit. There’s a good amount of tannic firmness surrounded by thick extract and fleshiness.
Solaia is a renowned Italian wine producer located in the heart of Tuscany. The winery was founded in 1978 by Marchese Piero Antinori, a member of one of the oldest and most respected wine-making families in Italy. Solaia is known for producing some of the finest Super Tuscan wines in the world.
The vineyards of Solaia are located in the Chianti Classico region, which is known for its ideal climate and soil conditions for growing grapes. The winery produces a range of wines, including the flagship Solaia, which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, and Cabernet Franc. This wine is aged in French oak barrels for 18 months and then in the bottle for another 12 months before release. The result is a complex and elegant wine with notes of blackcurrant, blackberry, and vanilla.
Another notable wine produced by Solaia is the Tignanello, which is a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc. This wine is aged in French oak barrels for 12 months and then in the bottle for another 12 months before release. The Tignanello is a full-bodied wine with notes of black cherry, plum, and tobacco.
Solaia also produces a range of other wines, including the Guado al Tasso, which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. This wine is aged in French oak barrels for 14 months and then in the bottle for another 10 months before release. The Guado al Tasso is a rich and complex wine with notes of blackberry, black cherry, and spice.
Overall, Solaia is a producer of some of the finest Super Tuscan wines in the world. The winery's commitment to quality and tradition has earned it a reputation as one of the top wine producers in Italy.
The 2009 Solaia is one of the clear standouts of the vintage. Freshly cut flowers, raspberries, spices, mint, and liquorice burst from the glass as this fabulous, viscerally thrilling wine shows off its pure class. Today the oak is a bit prominent, but that won’t be an issue by the time the wine is ready to drink. In one of my blind tastings, the 2009 Solaia was flat-out great. There is no shortage of pedigree here. The 2009 has calmed down a little from its youth, when it was a much more exuberant wine, and has now begun to close down in bottle.
The 2008 Solaia is richer and darker than the Tignanello, but it isn’t an appreciably more complex or complete wine. It shows gorgeous depth and textural richness to match an expressive core of blackberry jam, smoke, scorched earth, crushed rocks, and cassis. This is a beautiful wine, but not as great as I had hoped. The 2008 Solaia is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Sangiovese and 5% Cabernet Franc, aged in 100% new oak.
The 2007 Solaia saturates the palate with a heady array of super-ripe black cherries, plums, cassis, mocha, and sweet French oak. There is an exotic quality to the Solaia I find totally irresistible. Despite its considerable ripeness and opulence, the 2007 Solaia is never heavy, rather it impresses for its extraordinary finesse and balance. Minerals, graphite, and crushed rocks frame a long, seductive finish. This is a wonderful Solaia loaded with vintage and vineyard character.
The estate’s 2006 Solaia is a big, powerful offering loaded with ripe blackberry jam, herbs, minerals, and French oak. Like all the 2006s from Antinori, the Solaia remains extraordinarily dense and primary. Readers will have to be patient with this wine and give it plenty of bottle age before the full range of its aromas and nuances blossom fully. Solaia is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Sangiovese and 5% Cabernet Franc.
Solaia is a renowned Italian wine producer located in the heart of Tuscany. The winery was founded in 1978 by Marchese Piero Antinori, a member of one of the oldest and most respected wine-making families in Italy. Solaia is known for producing some of the finest Super Tuscan wines in the world.
The vineyards of Solaia are located in the Chianti Classico region, which is known for its ideal climate and soil conditions for growing grapes. The winery produces a range of wines, including the flagship Solaia, which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, and Cabernet Franc. This wine is aged in French oak barrels for 18 months and then in the bottle for another 12 months before release. The result is a complex and elegant wine with notes of blackcurrant, blackberry, and vanilla.
Another notable wine produced by Solaia is the Tignanello, which is a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc. This wine is aged in French oak barrels for 12 months and then in the bottle for another 12 months before release. The Tignanello is a full-bodied wine with notes of black cherry, plum, and tobacco.
Solaia also produces a range of other wines, including the Guado al Tasso, which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. This wine is aged in French oak barrels for 14 months and then in the bottle for another 10 months before release. The Guado al Tasso is a rich and complex wine with notes of blackberry, black cherry, and spice.
Overall, Solaia is a producer of some of the finest Super Tuscan wines in the world. The winery's commitment to quality and tradition has earned it a reputation as one of the top wine producers in Italy.
The thrilling 2004 Solaia (75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Sangiovese and 5% Cabernet Franc) is clearly one of the highlights of this great vintage. Endowed with massive amounts of concentration as well as structure, it is a big, powerful Solaia that does not sacrifice elegance or balance in its full-bodied personality.
Packed with the essence of blackberries, chocolate, tar, smoke, cassis and menthol, this layered beauty exhibits great length and a persistent, warmly alcoholic finish. It has been stunning on the three occasions I have had it so far and is not to be missed.
The 2001 Solaia, far superior to the overrated 1997 (to which I also prefer the 1999 and 1994) is a classic example of central Tuscan Cabernet at its best, ruby-purple in color, warm and explosive in its expression of black currant fruit, tobacco, tar, and graphite, superbly concentrated and dense on the palate but balanced and shapely at the same time and with a noble austerity and grip on the finish which resembles the best of Bordeaux. The wine is a sure bet for another two decades of superb drinking.
