Solaia 2016 Toscana IGT, Marchesi Antinori

The Solaia vineyard is a 50 acre vineyard located on the Tignanello estate. It has ideal southwestern exposure, and stony soils of hard limestone and flaky calcareous clay; "alberese" and “galestro”. The Antinori family produced the first bottling from this single vineyard in 1978 and Solaia is only produced in exceptional vintages. 2016 was indeed another outstanding vintage considered among the finest and resulting in grapes ripened to perfection. A Super Tuscan blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Sangiovese, 7% Cabernet Franc aged 18 months in French oak Barrels, this 2016 has received outstanding praise including two 100 point scores.

Vinous scored this 99 points saying " Like Tignanello, the 2016 Solaia is a wine of extraordinary nuance and finesse. Super-ripe blackberry, plum jam, espresso, menthol, licorice and sweet spice build as the sublime 2016 shows off its personality and breeding. The 2016 somehow manages to be incredibly deep and also light on its feet. Sweet floral and spice notes add the closing shades of nuance to an exotic, beguilingly beautiful Solaia endowed with an eternal finish and mind-blowing beauty. The 2016 is an epic Solaia. That's all there is to it."

James Suckling scored it a perfect 100 points saying "Speechless here. I thought the 2015 was already perfect but this is perfect, too. But in a different way. It is so structured and multidimensional. Full-bodied, powerful and intense with incredible tannin backbone and depth. The dark-berry, wet-earth, oyster-shell and mushroom flavors are phenomenal. 20% less production than 2015. Give it four or five years to come together. Try after 2025."


The Wine Advocate scored this a perfect 100 points saying "I fussed over scoring this wine more than I'd like to admit—tasting through three samples under different conditions at various intervals and testing my impressions blind against wines in its peer group. Most importantly, I tasted this 2016 vintage against the 2015 vintage over and over again. I confess to a few nights of restless sleep as a result. Ultimately, my decision to award 100 points to the 2016 Solaia came on impulse and with the most natural sense of purpose. I had also given the 2015 vintage a perfect score, and intellectually, it seemed impossible not to pick a favorite among these two stunning expressions. I will also state, outright, that the wines are very different, principally because the 2015 vintage shows more overall opulence and sweetness that extends to the pronounced textural richness of the mouthfeel. The 2016 vintage, on the other hand, is more chiseled and sharp with mineral shadings of campfire ash and graphite at the rim of its dark fruit. The mouthfeel is more streamlined and tight at its core, suggesting that the wine will unfold and soften beautifully with time. I feel like 2015 is the Dolce & Gabbana of the situation and the 2016 is the Armani Privé. The personalities of the two wines are distinct, yet my admiration for each is identical."