Marchese Antinori Solaia Toscana IGT 2018

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

The History of Solaia

by Antonio Galloni, Vinous

The Antinori family of Florence, one of the world’s oldest and most distinguished wine producers, has lived in Tuscany since the 14th century and celebrated its 625th anniversary as wine makers in 2010. The current company president, Marchese Piero Antinori, believes in the tradition that the primary role of wine is to accompany food and enhance the dining experience. In Florence, the Antinori family has led a “Renaissance” in Italian wine making by combining long traditions, a love of authenticity and a dynamic innovative spirit.

Solaia emerges from a handful of hillside blocks within Antinori’s vast Tignanello property in San Casciano Val di Pesa in the northern part of the Chianti Classico region. Like many cutting-edge Tuscan wines, Solaia began its life as an experiment. In 1978 Antinori had a little more Cabernet Sauvignon/Franc for their Tignanello than they needed, so a small amount was bottled separately. The rest, as they say, is history. Pretty much.

The first two vintages were 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Cabernet Franc. With the 1982 vintage, Solaia took the shape it pretty much has today, which is about 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Sangiovese and 5% Cabernet Franc. In a few vintages, such as 1985 and 1989-1994, the Cabernet Sauvignon percentage has been closer to 70%, while the Franc has gone up to 10%. The other exception is 2002, a very difficult vintage, in which Solaia is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc.

Over the years, Solaia has been a good stylistic barometer for Tuscany. In the 1980s, Solaia was quite classic and Bordeaux-inspired. In the 1990s, ripeness and concentration were both given an extra push, while the 2000s saw a return to earlier harvests and a search for greater finesse.

1982  was the first vintage in which Solaia includes Sangiovese, an early precursor to how the wine would develop in the coming years.

The wines really entered the stratosphere with the 2004 Solaia the first of the truly epic modern Solaia. This is the first vintage in which the component wines were aged separately and blended towards the end of aging. That, along with more care in managing temperature in fermentation and aging, and the fabulous vintage combine to produce a super-silky, polished Solaia. Sweet, refined tannins and pure sophistication are the hallmarks of this era of dazzling, totally head-spinning Solaias.

From this point Antinori began seeking to elevate the finesse in the wine. In recent years, the winemaking team headed by Renzo Cotarello has shifted towards a style that seeks more energy and vibrancy in the wines than in the past, something that is very much in evidence in tasting through the 2015’s.

In the Vineyard

Solaia is a 50 acre (20 hectare) vineyard with a southwestern exposure located at an altitude between 1150 and 1325 feet (350-400 meters) above sea level and with a stony soil of “alberese” (hard limestone) and “galestro” (flaky calcareous clay) rock. The vineyard is located at the Tignanello estate.

In the Winery

Heightened focus was given both in the vineyards during harvesting operations and in the cellar. Grapes were destemmed, meticulously selected on sorting tables, delicately crushed then transferred by gravity flow into vats. It was imperative that only the finest berries reached the 60 Hl truncated cone shaped fermentation tanks. During fermentation and maceration on the skins, it was essential to maintain the right balance between fruit and quality of the tannins enhancing their sweetness and aromas, especially important taking into consideration the peculiar nature of this vintage. Once the wine and skins were separated, malolactic fermentation occurred in small oak barrels to enhance the complexity and pleasantness of the wine. Aging took place in new French oak barrels for approximately 18 months. The different lots were first barrel aged separately, then blended and continued to gracefully evolve in the barrel completing the aging process.

The 2018 Vintage

The 2018 growing season in Chianti Classico began with relatively normal winter weather both in temperatures and precipitation levels. Despite these climatic conditions, the vines experienced budbreak about one week earlier than the area’s seasonal averages. Spring brought frequent rain showers and lower than average temperatures, especially during the month of May. Relatively hot temperatures and dry conditions persisted throughout the months of June and July but the vineyards were not affected by any extreme heat events. Scattered rainfall in the month of August and a lengthy period of dry, breezy weather in September and October allowed the grapes to progress to optimal maturity with good sugar content and excellent phenolic ripeness.The grape harvest began in late September with Cabernet Franc, continued with Sangiovese and was completed on October 10th with Cabernet Sauvignon.

Total annual rainfall: 845.9 mm Average temperature April 1st – October 12th: 20.4 °C (68.7 °F) Rainfall April 1st – October 12th: 286 mm

Where in the World is Solaia?

The Tenuta Tignanello estate, home to Solaia, is in the heart of Chianti Classico, in the gently rolling hillsides between the Greve and Pesa river valleys. It extends over an area of 319 hectares (788 acres), of which 130 (321 acres) are dedicated to vines.