2021 Solaia, Antinori, Tuscany, Italy
Critics reviews
Antinori's 2021 Solaia is another wine that captures all of the potential I sensed when I tasted it some months ago. More than anything else, the 2021 is a fine example of the style Antinori favors these days, an approach that favors finesse more than opulence. Dark plum, mocha, licorice, chocolate, spice, lavender and menthol build effortlessly in the glass. Oak and tannin are impeccably balanced. The 2021 spent 18 months in wood, three months in once-used barrels during the malolactic fermentation and then 15 months in 100% new barrels for the rest of its aging.
Antinori presented some of the most memorable wines I have ever tasted here. The 2021s capture all the pedigree of this great Chianti Classico vintage in their combination of vibrancy, aromatic intensity and fruit. CEO Renzo Cotarella and his two longtime technical directors, Dora Pacciani and Sara Pontremolesi, have moved the wines towards a style that emphasizes more freshness than in the past while dialing down the more opulent side that was once in favor.
It’s a significant evolution, one that really makes itself felt in 2021, a vintage that is so well suited to wines of energy. Readers will note the addition of three new single-vineyard Gran Seleziones in the range, wines I have watched grow over the years from young barrel samples into fully finished wines.
Drink 2027 - 2051
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (June 2024)
All said and done, the Marchesi Antinori 2021 Solaia is a monument to perfect winemaking. This coiffed supermodel does not show a single hair follicle out of place. However, it doesn't quite have the same sex appeal of the Tignanello. In my conversations with Estate Manager Renzo Cotarella during this tasting, it was expressed this way: "Tignanello is unexpected. Solaia is expected." Whereas Tignanello is a wine of vertical lift and energy, Solaia is a wine of lasting power.
The wine offers generous depth and layering with soft tannins and some of the spicy pink peppercorn you get from the 9% Cabernet Franc (added to 77% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Sangiovese). The finish is extremely velvety and soft, but I notice that the flavors seem to become sweeter and riper the longer this wine stays in the glass. This newest release will hit the market in September.
Marchesi Antinori General Manager Renzo Cotarella tells me that 2021 is the best vintage he has ever overseen. Ever. He prefers it to recent classics like 2016 and 2010. There was frost in the spring, and the growing cycle was very long. This is something that most grapes, and especially Sangiovese, need in order to exhibit aromatic depth and flavor complexity. "This is an exceptional year," he says, citing the inner energy certainly exhibited by the wines from 2021.
I agree, mostly, but not unequivocally. I love the precision and tension inherent to these wines, but I didn't encounter that same breathless vertical lift and linearity that I remember so well in 2016, for example. That was a vintage that managed to effortlessly balance both power and elegance, which is by no means an easy feat. To me, 2021 has the elegance but not the same piercing power that you only get in cooler vintages when sugar and phenolic ripening line up seamlessly. So, while I love these wines, especially the Chianti Classico Riserva Marchese Antinori and the outstanding Tignanello, my money is still on 2016 as the better vintage, speaking generally. But zoom in on one wine and my money is on the 2021 Tignanello over everything else.
Drink 2025 - 2050
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate (March 2024)
‘For me [2021 is] one of the best vintages ever,’ says Renzo Cotarella, Antinori's CEO and head winemaker, of the widely lauded vintage in Tuscany, explaining to me that it shares characteristics with 1997 and 2007, with a cool, frosty start slowing down vegetative growth and helping to extend the growing season, aided by milder temperatures later in the summer which enabled the grapes to build concentration while preserving freshness. Recent vintages of Solaia have benefitted from an increased use of Cabernet Franc, which stands at 9% in 2021.
Due to be launched this autumn, Solaia 2021 is still a baby but its potential is immediately apparent. Inky and concentrated, with a dark chocolate barrique signature on the nose, it combines salinity with bountiful and sapid fruits, offering ripe black and red cherries, and dark hedgerow berries alongside herbal freshness, and finely textured tannins. Ferrous, meaty and earthy undertones emerge after some time in the glass, providing a counterpoint to the inherent sweetness of the fruit. Muscular yet wonderfully poised, this will only reveal all its complexities after significant ageing.
Drink 2025 - 2050
James Button, Decanter (April 2024)
About this WINE
Antinori
Antinori is the most famous name in Italian wine and the influence of Piero Antinori in the last 25 years has been nothing short of revolutionary. Antinori's flagship wine, Tignanello, first appeared in 1971 and caused a sensation by its use of Cabernet Sauvignon in a Sangiovese blend and with its practice of ageing in small French barriques. Antinori was accused of vinous treachery and treason but soon barrique-aged blends of Sangiovese and Cabernet began appearing all across Tuscany.
Solaia is a Cabernet-dominated blend, which, like Tignanello, is from the Santa Cristina estate and is stunningly rich. Tenuta Belvedere is in Bolgheri on the Mediterranean coast .
The Guado al Tasso estate is also part of the small, prestigious Bolgheri DOC zone which has been famous for its Rosé wines since the Seventies: along with the white wines made here, they were awarded the DOC in 1984, which was extended to the reds in 1994. The area is now best-known and admired for its outstanding red wines, the so-called Super-Tuscans. The estate covers over 1,000 hectares, 300 of which are planted with vineyards, and the rest with wheat, sunflowers and olives
Tenuta Guado al Tasso was part of feudal lands of about 4,048 hectares along about 7km of coast and belonged to the Della Gherardesca family, whose roots in this region date back to over 1,200 years ago. In the Thirties the land was inherited by Carlotta della Gherardesca Antinori - mother of Piero Antinori - and her sister, who was married to Mario Incisa della Rocchetta (who took possession of the nearby Tenuta San Guido). There were seven castles on the estate, four of which are still standing, and 86 watchtowers, built 1000 years ago to protect the family from Saracen invaders from the African coast.
There are currently 300 hectares of vineyards at Tenuta Guado al Tasso, situated at an altitude of 45-60m a.s.l. on various types of soil. The varieties planted are Vermentino (a grape variety native to the coastal area of Liguria and northern Tuscany, which has also flourished for many years in Corsica and Sardinia), Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. There are also small quantities of other varieties including Cabernet Franc.
Many ideas and resources have been invested in the Guado al Tasso estate, for constant research into improved quality: as a result, a nursery for rooted cuttings was created here in 1994, mainly for the propagation of Vermentino, but also to produce the best possible selections of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot for use in other Antinori estates.
The mitigating influence of the Mediterranean prevents drastic temperature variations and the vines flower and ripen early, thanks to the stable, fairly warm microclimate with its extraordinary light during the final phases of ripening. Thanks to the microclimate of the "Bolgheri amphitheatre", harvesting takes place early here, about two weeks before the Chianti harvest.
The Guado al Tasso estate makes Scalabrone (Bolgheri Rosato DOC) from Sangiovese, Merlot and Syrah, Vermentino di Bolgheri DOC, a monovarietal Vermentino (made for the first time in 1996) and since 1990, the Guado al Tasso Bolgheri DOC Superiore from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes.
IGT Tuscany
IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) Tuscany is a wine classification from Italy's Tuscany region. It is one of the official wine classifications recognized by the Italian government. IGT is a step below the highest classification, DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita), and above the DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) level.
The IGT classification was introduced in 1992 to allow winemakers more flexibility in grape varieties and employ winemaking techniques while still ensuring a certain level of quality and geographical indication. This classification gives winemakers more freedom to experiment and innovate, deviating from the strict regulations of the DOC and DOCG classifications.
IGT Tuscany wines can be produced throughout the entire region of Tuscany, encompassing various sub-regions and terroirs within the area. This classification allows winemakers to use traditional Tuscan grape varieties, such as Sangiovese, and non-traditional grape varieties, including international ones like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and others.
The IGT Tuscany classification gives winemakers the flexibility to create wines that showcase the unique characteristics of their specific vineyards and winemaking styles. It allows for experimentation with blending different grape varieties, using innovative winemaking techniques, and exploring new regional vineyard sites.
IGT Tuscany wines can vary greatly, from traditional and terroir-driven expressions to more modern and international styles. This classification has played a significant role in developing Super Tuscan wines, often IGT designated and known for their high quality and international recognition.
Overall, IGT Tuscany provides a platform for winemakers in the region to express their creativity and produce wines that reflect their unique vision while maintaining a connection to the rich heritage and traditions of winemaking in Tuscany.
Cabernet Sauvignon blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
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Description
Antinori's 2021 Solaia is another wine that captures all of the potential I sensed when I tasted it some months ago. More than anything else, the 2021 is a fine example of the style Antinori favors these days, an approach that favors finesse more than opulence. Dark plum, mocha, licorice, chocolate, spice, lavender and menthol build effortlessly in the glass. Oak and tannin are impeccably balanced. The 2021 spent 18 months in wood, three months in once-used barrels during the malolactic fermentation and then 15 months in 100% new barrels for the rest of its aging.
Antinori presented some of the most memorable wines I have ever tasted here. The 2021s capture all the pedigree of this great Chianti Classico vintage in their combination of vibrancy, aromatic intensity and fruit. CEO Renzo Cotarella and his two longtime technical directors, Dora Pacciani and Sara Pontremolesi, have moved the wines towards a style that emphasizes more freshness than in the past while dialing down the more opulent side that was once in favor.
It’s a significant evolution, one that really makes itself felt in 2021, a vintage that is so well suited to wines of energy. Readers will note the addition of three new single-vineyard Gran Seleziones in the range, wines I have watched grow over the years from young barrel samples into fully finished wines.
Drink 2027 - 2051
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (June 2024)
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