Antinori Solaia IGT 2014

CLIMATE

The winter of 2014 was a rather mild season with temperatures slightly higher than normal averages for the period. This led to an early bud burst of all the grape varieties - Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc. The spring season was marked by dry and mild weather which assisted a good flowering and bud set of the crop. The summer, somewhat unstable and with more frequent rainfall than usual, slowed the processes of color change and ripening in the grapes, which re-balanced themselves in part during the first weeks of September thanks to days of warm and sunny weather. The harvest took place between the second half of September and early October. The Cabernet Franc between the 22nd and the 30th of September, the Sangiovese between the 3rd and the 7th of October, the Cabernet Sauvignon between the 9th and the 12th of October.

VINIFICATION

The vintage 2014 has had the most important aspects in the management of the vineyard and in the selection of the grapes to achieve Solaia's quality. Pruning interventions in the vineyard combined with careful manual harvesting have ensured great potential of the grapes and grand varietal character.

Once in the cellars, the grapes are delicately destemmed and the berries, before pressing, were carefully selected on a sorting table; here attention to detail was at its maximum, it is of fundamental importance that only perfect grapes end up in the 60 hectoliter (1585 gallon) conical fermenting tanks. During the fermentation and the period of skin contact, the must slowly became wine: in this phase much care was needed to maintain freshness and aroma, but without neglecting the extraction of color and a management of the tannins aimed at elegance and suppleness. Once the wine was run off its skins, it went through a complete malolactic fermentation in oak barrels to further add finesse and drinking pleasure. The barrels, all new, were coopered from French oak, and the aging period lasted 18 months. During this period the various lots, fermented separately according to their variety and the character of the individual vineyard parcels, completed their aging and are then blended together a few months before bottling.

Winemaker Notes The 2014 vintage has been a difficult one, above all from a climatic point of view. Nonetheless, the results as far as the wines are concerned allow us to be optimistic and unquestionably satisfied. The color, the aromas, and the cleanness are certainly not lacking, we are certainly dealing with a vintage which is somewhat limited, less powerful but unquestionably one which an excellent typicality and stylistic character in addition to an indisputable potential longevity.