Tasting Notes
Jane Anson 98
A great vintage of the iconic Solaia, full of cloves, sage, graphite, grilled dried herbs, underbrush and roasted cherry pit. There’s fruit too, bilberry and cassis, juicy and mouthwatering, both understated and exuberant, ensuring a Tuscan fingerprint despite its majority Cabernet Sauvignon construction. Has grip and length, and effortless charm, reflecting an excellent vintage with low yields after a hot dry summer. Antinori family showing once again why this wine, that comes from 20ha the sunniest slopes of the Tignanello estate, set at 350-400m altitude, is so hard to resist. Winemaking director Renzo Cotarella.
Anticipated maturity: 2026-2038
James Suckling 98
Subtle and beautiful on the nose with currants, flowers and light sage aromas that follow through to a full body with ultra-fine tannins and a long and flavorful finish. Extremely polished and poised. Classy. Best after 2028.
Vinous 97
The 2020 Solaia is an infant. I expected a more exuberant wine, but the 2020 is built along more classic lines. Black cherry, plum, gravel, incense, smoke, pencil shavings and spice all open effortlessly. As always, Solaia is a Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine, but it is a Cabernet that is distinctly Italian, with plenty of Tuscan acid and structure driving through the mid-palate and into the finish. The 2020 is a terrific example of the recent stylistic shift at Antinori. In the past, richness and opulence were qualities of a vintage that would have been amplified in the vineyard and cellar. Today, the aim is to capture a more balanced expression of these kinds of vintages, and that very much comes through.
Anticipated maturity: 2028-2045