🍷 Solaia

Solaia is a line of Antinori (red Toscana IGT wine); years on this site: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006.

According to the house, it comes from the Solaia vineyard, 20 hectares facing south-west at 350–400 metres on stony soils of alberese (hard limestone) and galestro (flaky calcareous clay) on the Tenuta Tignanello estate; first made in 1978 from 80 % Cabernet Sauvignon and 20 % Cabernet Franc, it later took 20 % Sangiovese; it is made only in exceptional years and was not produced in 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984 and 1992.

Antinori is a Tuscan wine family firm based in Bargino (San Casciano Val di Pesa); according to the family, it has been in wine since 1385 and run by 26 generations.

Toscana (or Toscano) is a protected geographical indication (IGT; in EU terms a PGI) covering the whole administrative territory of the Tuscany region: the provinces of Arezzo, Florence, Grosseto, Livorno, Lucca, Massa-Carrara, Pisa, Pistoia, Prato and Siena. It covers red (including novello and abboccato), rosé, white, frizzante, passito (dried-grape) and late-harvest wines, with or without a grape variety on the label. The list of allowed varieties is very long, from Sangiovese, Canaiolo Nero, Colorino and Trebbiano Toscano to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah. According to the description of the link with the area, Tuscany lies between sea and mountains with hills inland, vines have been grown here since the Etruscans, and Tuscan wine is marked by highly varied blends of native and imported varieties.

Under the IGT Toscana rules, red wine has a total alcoholic strength of at least 11 % and at least 20 g/l of sugar-free extract; the yield for red and rosé wines is limited to 16,000 kg of grapes and 128 hl of wine per hectare. The rules also allow the traditional «governo all’uso toscano»: right after racking, the red wine is refermented with about 5 % of slightly dried, crushed grapes, which eases the malolactic fermentation and natural stabilisation. Under EU law at least 85 % of the grapes for a PGI wine must come from the named area, whereas a PDO wine must come entirely from it. The designation is a rule of origin and production, not a verdict on taste.

Under EU rules, a wine label must show the designation of origin, the actual alcoholic strength, allergens such as sulphites, and the name of the bottler. A harvest year on the label means the wine is made from grapes of that year.

Why it matters to you. The name on the label tells you where the grapes come from and under which rules the wine was made; in Tuscany the blend and the harvest dates change every year, so different years of the same wine are different wines. The WHO reminds: there is no safe level of alcohol. The year on the label is the harvest year.