Solaia, Antinori 1997

This is the wine of the 1997 vintage - and the greatest Solaia ever. Produced by the famous Florentine wine family Antinori, Solaia was one of the forerunners of the super Tuscan phenomenon. The 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese blend shows a massive concentration of fruit and tannins, yet it comes across as balanced and harmonious. It’s a wine for a long term aging. Winemaker Renzo Cotarella says he is not sure if he will ever make a better wine than the 1997 Solaia.

The unfiltered 1997 Solaia (75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Sangiovese, and 5% Cabernet Franc, from a single 25-acre vineyard) is aged in 100% new French oak. There are 8,000 cases of the 1997. The sensational, opaque blue/purple-colored 1997 exhibits a complex nose of cedar, spice box, cassis, and subtle oak. With yields of only 30 hectoliters per hectare, and malolactic fermentation in barrel (a la Tignanello), this wine reveals extraordinary concentration, a thick, viscous texture, yet no sense of heaviness or ponderousness. It is a thrilling Solaia to consume over the next two decades. If a first-growth Pauillac were made in Tuscany, this would be it!