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1997 Antinori Solaia

1997 Antinori Solaia

97 WS

Featured Review
Dark ruby red color. Currant, Christmas cake, mint and spices. Full-bodied, with ultrafine tannins and a long, long finish. This is balanced and refined. It's layered and beautiful. This is still tight and not giving much. A few more years will yield a lot. Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese.--1997 Italian blind retrospective. Best after 2009. 7,000 cases made. Wine Spectator

Wine Spectator | 97 WS

Critic Reviews

Dark ruby red color. Currant, Christmas cake, mint and spices. Full-bodied, with ultrafine tannins and a long, long finish. This is balanced and refined. It’s layered and beautiful. This is still tight and not giving much. A few more years will yield a lot. Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese.--1997 Italian blind retrospective. Best after 2009. 7,000 cases made.

Wine Spectator | 97 WS
Top-echelon, with a stunning purity and depth of layered fruit both sensuous and intellectually appealing. The dark cherry and plum core is oak-enveloped with rarely seen seamlessness, while the big but supple mouthfeel belies the wine’s profound power and structure. A classic effort marked by perfect fruit-to-acid balance, firm, refined tannins and a seemingly endless finish.

Wine Enthusiast | 97 WE
The bottle I opened a few nights ago was gorgeous. It shows alluring aromas and flavors of currants and raspberries with hints of balsamic and mint. It’s full and round in the mouth. It’s so youthful still. Just a baby. Drink or hold.

James Suckling | 97 JS
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!

Robert Parker | 96 RP
The 1997 Solaia is awesome. Sweet, open aromatics lead to a rich, full-bodied expression of dark cherries, plums, menthol and spices. This sensual, full-bodied wine remains youthful and full of life. This is a great Solaia.

Vinous Media | 96 VM
Expressive and appealing right from the start, the nose offers tobacco, blackcurrant and a tangle of herbs. Conversely, the palate has a slightly austere and drying edge, although nuances of dried dark plum and iron are appetising. While the tannins could smooth out more, flavours are quite developed, suggesting that this will give the most pleasure now and over the next few years – especially with a juicy grilled steak. Drinking Window 2018 - 2025

Decanter | 92 DEC

Wine Details for 1997 Antinori Solaia

Type of Wine Super Tuscan/IGT : Many grape varietals are planted all over the world so they're not typical for one single country anymore. For instance, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc form part of many blends coming from different countries. Super Tuscan wines are produced in this Italian region, but grape varietals used in the making are not indigenous - those are mostly Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Varietal Proprietary Blend : Proprietary Blend is a general term used to indicate that a wine is comprised of multiple grape varietals which are either “proprietary” to the winery or is blended and does not meet the required maximum or minimum percentage of a particular varietal. This also is the case for the grape’s place of origin, especially for region, appellation or vineyard designated wines. There are endless examples of blended wines which are labeled as “Proprietary Blend” and in conjunction with each region’s stipulated wine laws and regulations makes for a vast blanket for wines to fall into. Perhaps the simplest example is California; if a wine is to be labeled as Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, it is required to have at least 75% of the varietal (Cabernet Sauvignon) and 85% of the fruit must be cultivated from the Napa Valley wine district. If the wine does not meet the requirements, it is then labeled as Proprietary Blend.

Country Italy : Italy is renowned as one of the world’s greatest gastronomic havens; from certified Prosciutto di Parma to the sea-side seafood eateries on the island of Sicily. However, this epicurean experience could not possibly be as hedonistic without the ethereal combination of the country’s plethora of fine wines. It seems unfair that a nation should be able to boast, both, some of the world’s greatest cuisine as well as its greatest wines. Italian wine is one of the most sought after in the world, and has become the second most produced in the world, behind only France.



Stretching an impressive 736 miles from northern Italy to the peninsula’s southern tip, the country’s geography generates an enormous array of topography, climate and soil structure. This is an extremely important quality of its winegrowing and making industry which lays claim to nearly 550 different grape varietals, which all desire their own necessities, in terms of terroir and climate.



The still red wines of Italy truly characterize the nation’s vast and expansive terroir; Nebbiolo dominates Piedmont, where Barolo and Barbaresco reign king and queen of the region’s production. Hailing from Brunello di Montalcino in Tuscany, the rockstar Sangiovese grape has become synonymous with greatness. Vin Santo sweet wines have taken on a mighty feat of competing with the glorious wines of Sauternes, and of course, Prosecco. Prosecco, located in Trieste (northeast Italy) and its creation of luxuriously effervescent styles of wine has become Italy’s answer to Champagne. The Glera grape variety, which has become synonymous with the name Prosecco, is the main ingredient and is beloved in the appellation where the village of Prosecco’s name has become world renowned.



The blurred boundary between Italy and the countries of Slovenia and Austria, where German influence still resonates through Friuli wines. The prevalence of Riesling and other such grape varietals is high in this region and have become extremely popular on today’s market.



With nearly 702,000 hectares of grapevines covering the massive and diverse landscape, Italy’s annual average of 48.3 million hectoliters of wine production is second only to France in terms of volume and Spain in terms of hectares of vines. The country is vast and overwhelming when it comes to the culinary arts, but perhaps even this is overshadowed by its production of some of the world’s most sought after wines, whether the omnipresent Chianti to the highly collectible and sought after Amarone della Valpolicalla.


Region Tuscany : Italian culture worships the concept of a shared meal, and their wines scream for a chance to be uncorked with your friends and family. The region's Mediterranean climate and hilly landscape combine to create a beautiful viticultural environment, where every chosen grape is brought to its full potential and transmuted into drinks worthy of gods. The vineyards are planted along the higher reaches of the hill slopes, creating a gorgeous view of the Italian landscape.

Once your lips kiss the wine, you're sent spiraling down a veritable whirlpool of pure flavor, touching upon notes of sensuous cherry, nuts, floral hints and undertones of honey and minerals. The wines can be as sweet as a fresh summer romance, and carry an air of dignity and elegance about them that can stimulate your intellect for months as you contemplate the seemingly infinite intricacies and details in the texture. Tuscany is an important part of Italian viticulture, and sampling their wines is the closest you can get to visiting this heavenly region and experiencing the culture.
Subregion Toscana

Overview

Producer Marchesi Antinori

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