Just bottled, the 2017 Solaia is naturally going to need time to come together. Even in the early going, though, it shows all the richness and opulence that is typical of the year, with terrific aromatic expansiveness and tons of persistence. I can't wait to taste it with a bit more time in bottle.
Extremely aromatic with sage, lavender, blackberries and currants. Full-bodied with chewy and very polished tannins that melt into the wine. Foursquare and slightly austere. Fresh and well framed. A wine that needs five to six years to soften and come together completely. Try after 2025.
The Marchesi Antinori 2017 Solaia offers a uniquely floral personality with wild rose and lilac that comes as a surprise, especially if you are expecting the more robust and opulent dark fruit associated with this vintage. To use a word that is popular now, the aromas are absolutely lifted. This is a bouquet-driven wine, showing great oak choices that are synergistic with the light and considerably thinner palate. Dried or pressed flowers cede to cherry, blueberry, some red meat char and a light touch of cinnamon. My impression is that the dry extract from the oak ultimately plays a bigger role in the overall flavor profile, preserving its red fruit core nevertheless. The wine is very accessible in terms of mouthfeel, showing a comparatively thinner and shorter approach. With more time in the glass, it offers some of the white soil dust that is a standard Solaia signature. It will be released the first week of September.
