Solaia: an iconic Italian wine

Packed in a box of 3 bottles
98 Suckling / 98 Anson / 97 Wine Advocate / 97 Galloni

We have only a few bottles of Solaia 2019. It is one of the best red wines from Italy that is very difficult to obtain. It is the iconic wine of the famous Antinori winery. This “Super Tuscan” is ultimate perfection in one. In short, it has everything you could wish for in a red wine! Extremely complex, refined, and elegant. Concentrated, with almost liqueur-like fruit, simultaneously excellent acidity and very classic. Strawberry, blackcurrant, orange, earth, leather. Clearly very young, but promising.

Solaia is the showpiece of the Tuscan Antinori wine family. Solaia is a vineyard on the estate of the equally famous Tignanello. The wine comes from the Chianti Classico region but is not allowed to bear this title because it is made predominantly from Cabernet Sauvignon. Solaia is therefore a Toscana IGT and one of the most famous Super Tuscans. The wine is made from 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Sangiovese, and 5% Cabernet Franc. Made from the very best grapes from the very best vineyard in Antinori. The rest is passion, the utmost care, and research. View everything about the 2019 year on the Antinori website.

Dit zeggen professionele wijnrecensenten over Solaia 2019:

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate: 97/100 punten voor Solaia 2019: “The Marchesi Antinori 2019 Solaia is another blockbuster success from Tuscany’s leading wine estate. The blend sees a slightly higher percentage of Cabernet Franc and a slightly lower percentage of Sangiovese. The current mix is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Sangiovese and 10% Cabernet Franc (which has been creeping up in recent years, especially as the climate changes). The soils at the Solaia vineyard are rich in Galestro rock, which is an especially happy pairing with Cabernet Franc in particular. Managing Director Renzo Cotarella tells me that that a vintage like 2019 is proof that the final character of a wine comes from its surrounding territory, not from the blend. This is a generous and extremely expressive edition with lots of dark fruit, spice and sweet tobacco. The tannins are beautifully velvety and soft. This is a beautiful wine that collectors will love.”

James Suckling: 98/100 points for Solaia 2019: “This has a complex array of blackberries, black cherries, cocoa, dried herbs, slate, tobacco, olives and charred bark. Some dried roses and iodine, too. Medium-to full-bodied with firm yet refined tannins. Powerful, in an understated way. Long. 73% cabernet sauvignon, 7% cabernet franc and 20% sangiovese.”

Solaia: Antinori's flagship

The Tenuta Tignanello estate is situated in the heart of Chianti Classico, in the gently rolling hills between the river valleys of Greve and Pesa. It covers an area of ​​319 hectares (788 acres), of which approximately 130 (321 acres) are dedicated to vines. Two of the estate's prized vineyards are located on the same hill, Tignanello and Solaia, on soils derived from Pliocene marine marlstone, rich in limestone and slate.
Meanwhile, the vines enjoy hot temperatures during the day and cooler evenings during the growing season.

The estate's two signature wines, Solaia and Tignanello, are produced from these vineyards and are subsequently described by the international press as “one of the most influential wines in the history of Italian viticulture”.

The grapes for the Tenuta Tignanello Solaia therefore come from the Solaia vineyard. This vineyard of approximately 10 hectares is situated on the southwest side near the Tignanello estate. Sole means ‘sun’ in Italian. The name of the wine is the name of this sunny vineyard. The terroir, the soil, is also very important for the quality of the wine. It contains rocky, calcareous soil. Solaia ages for 18 months in French and Hungarian oak barrels. The grape varieties cultivated include the indigenous Sangiovese and the non-traditional varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

Laboratorium

During the 1970s, Tenuta Tignanello was a kind of laboratory for Marchesi Antinori, a center for new viticultural research and development. Especially when new winemaking techniques and new varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were introduced. Innovations in vine density or pruning techniques and the selection of the Sangiovese grape have always been intended to obtain grapes with concentrated fruit and soft tannins. In this unique terroir, Sangiovese and Cabernet can fully express their own distinctive personalities and reflect the distinctive features of the territory.