Solaia Toscana IGT 2010 1.5 L

The 2010 Solaia puts on an incredible show that hits all the senses and keeps your unyielding attention for as long as there is wine in the bottle. There are various ways to describe the bouquet. First, is the wine’s sweet side, as this beautiful 75-20-5 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc delivers ripe cherry, black currant, baking spice and dark chocolate. After that, the wine becomes redolent of tobacco, balsam, bay leaf, rum cake and dark licorice. The bouquet is all encompassing and complete. A firmly structured backbone is padded generously by the fleshy richness of its consistency. This is a gorgeous wine that will age for decades. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2040. 

 The past 12 months mark one of the most exciting times in the long, long history of Antinori. Marchese Piero Antinori and his daughters inaugurated their monumental winery in Bargino, about 20 minutes from Florence in late 2012 after a series of last-minute preparations and sleepless nights. Winery doors officially opened to the public in 2013. It would be impossible to exaggerate to grandeur of this sprawling, multimillion-dollar underground edifice. Angelo Gaja told me at the opening that Antinori’s new winery is the most revolutionary event in modern Italian wine. I agree. With a museum, restaurant and tasting area, it represents Italy’s most ambitious effort yet to make wine the ultimate destination.

A triumph for Solaia: it suggests the greatness of the legendary 1997. This is a wine with very subtle, complex aromas and flavours of currants, licorice and raspberries. Wonderful nose. Full body with ultra-fine tannins and a long, long finish. It lasts for minutes on the palate. The precision of the cabrenet sauvignon comes through here. Better in 2016.

The 2010 Solaia rounds out this flight in style. Swaths of tannin give the 2010 a real sense of explosive energy and vibrancy that only builds with time in the glass. A whole range of dark aromas and flavors give the 2010 its brooding, inward personality. Tasted from magnum, the 2010 is very young, but its pedigree is unmistakable.