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Wine Description
The Story
When the initial production of Solaia began, the grape source was a parcel within the larger Tignanello vineyard. The same special characteristics as the original vineyard – altitude, soil, and exposure to the sun (which accounts for the name of the parcel and the wine: “Solaia” derives from sole, the Italian word for the sun) are also to be found in a nearby vineyard plot which, since 1997, has been integrated into the original vineyard. The Solaia vineyard, currently, consists of 20 hectares (49 acres) and is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon (15 hectares), Cabernet Franc (1 hectar) and Sangiovese (4 hectares); the vines have an average of fifteen years. Vine density ranges from 5,500 to 7,200 per hectare and a low, spurred-cordon training system is used. Over the years there has been a progressive renewal of the Solaia vineyard. This has been accomplished by utilizing the many years of experience and the more extensive knowledge of the estate’s land to further bring out the personality of Solaia as a wine.
The Marchesi Antinori firm produced this wine for the first time in the 1978 vintage with an initial blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Cabernet Franc, a blend repeated again in 1979. In the following vintages 20% of Sangiovese was added to the Cabernet grapes and the ratio of Cabernet Franc to Cabernet Sauvignon was changed in order to create a wine which has now become definitive in its various composing elements. Solaia is only produced in exceptional vintages: it was not produced in 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984 and 1992. In 2002 the Sangiovese did not achieve satisfactory quality for Solaia: only Cabernet grapes were used. This vintage is known as “annata diversa” (different vintage).
Wine Information
2003 will be remembered as one of the hottest years in recent decades.
In late March the winery's weather station recorded maximum temperatures of over 20°C, climbing to over 30°C in early May and close to 40°C in August. A record total of 2400° in daytime was recorded by heat summation, (which expresses the energy received by the vineyard during its vegetative-productive phase) compared to an average of 2000°.
From early June until the harvest there were only four significant rainfalls, roughly one per month, which allowed the grapes to ripen well despite limited water.
Vinification
Given the weather, the harvest was predictably early, at least in part: some of the Cabernet and Sangiovese grapes were fully ripe by mid-September.
Vinification adapted to the use of techniques better suited to hot weather: the rich extractability of the polyphenolic components enabled maceration to take place at 25°C, lasting a maximum of 7 days for the Sangiovese and 10 days for the Cabernet.
The extraction method used almost exclusively was délestage, devatting with little residual sugar and completing alcoholic fermentation in new French oak barriques.
Malolactic fermentation took place spontaneously by the end of November in these same barriques.
The wines were blended after malolactic fermentation, remaining in the barriques for another 12 months during which time they underwent racking three times.
After ageing the wine was tasted barrique by barrique and the necessary selection took place before bottling.
After a year in the bottles the wine was released for sale.
Alcohol : 13,5% Vol.